Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Episode 8- Saving Grace
by Steel Kiba
Summary: With the Dragonzord awakened and the remaining Power Rangers in disarray, Feron Grove is ripe for Rita Repulsa's rule, but the Evil Green Ranger has his own agenda to deal his enemies a final blow. In the final part of the Evil Green Chronicles, everything hangs in the balance. Can the lives of Ash, Zordon, the Dinozords, and the posessed Hayashi be saved? New episode preview up!
1. Dino Devastation

Eons ago, the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa ruled everything with a poison grip, enslaving humanity and destroying countless wondrous creatures, all in the name of a lust for control and a hidden power. The good wizard Zordon was able to seal her away for ten thousand years at the cost of his freedom, but she has returned to wreak havoc on Earth again. Now, Zordon has chosen a team of noble, world-travelled teenagers to harness the power of the dinosaurs to stop her and bring peace to the world. They are the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

**VOICE CAST**

Nick "DZ" Nemeth as Ash Ketchum/Red Ranger

Rachel Lillis as Misty Williams/Yellow Ranger

Lucien Dodge as Tracey "Sketchit" Matthews/Blue Ranger

Erin Cahill as Lia Feran/Pink Ranger

Johnny Yong Bosch as Brock Harrison/Black Ranger

Josh Grelle as Hayashi Feran/Evil Green Ranger

David Fielding as Zordon

Richard Horovitz as Alpha 5

Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa

Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar

Wendee Lee as Scorpina

As the Dragon Dinozord rose from the depths of the ocean, the four Power Rangers marveled at its presence. The Dragonzord, a two-legged behemoth, stood as tall as the Tyrannosaurus and was even wider than it. The silver-and-green colored mech was adorned with gold symbols of the Green Ranger's Power Coin all about its body, and its chest featured six red circles that formed a five-point star, one sphere in the center. As the creature roared again, the circles flashed as it waved its arms.

"Now you will fall before the might of the most powerful Dinozord in the world!" the Green Ranger cried, cackling as he withdrew the Sword of Darkness from Dragonzord's neck, sending sickly purple energy all through its being. And with that, he disappeared.

"Everyone get in front of them," Misty breathed, sweat cascading down her face. "We need to block it off from the town." The Yellow Ranger slid her controls forward, but the Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozord wouldn't budge.

"Huh? What are you doing? Come on!" She tried shifting them again, but the Zord did nothing.

"Hey, what's going on, Mastodon?" Black Ranger asked, his voice coming through Misty's intercom. "I can't move him!"

"I thought the Dragon Dagger was the only thing that could wake him up!" Lia shouted, spitting into the sand and putting her Pterodactyl-themed helmet back on. "The book made that clear!"

"You only possess half of the truth!" a voice screeched. Tracey and Lia looked up toward the sky to see the person that had been tormenting their planet all this time: Rita Repulsa.

"Your precious book knowledge cannot stand against my prophecies," Rita said. She hung high in the air twirling her magic wand, her brown robes drifting in the sea breeze. "And neither can your precious dinosaurs!"

"You're lying!" Tracey shot, tightening his fists. "You'll fail just like every other time!" He turned to Lia, who was speechless.

"Why don't you come down here and fight us yourself then!" Misty screamed from her Dinozord's cockpit. Saber-Toothed Tiger, along with the other Dinozords, snarled and screeched at the witch.

Rita let a vile smile curl her lips, twirling her staff once more. "You've spent all this time talking when you could have attacked me. Forget your honor about escalating the battle and finish me then."

"Make the first shot, you old hag!" Brock challenged, his hand on the fire button in his cockpit.

"Gladly," Rita answered. As soon as she finished, the Dragonzord bellowed and waved its arms again. Its humanlike hands, the fingertips hollowed open, locked into place, and each opening produced a large missile, firing directly at the heroes. The explosions knocked the three Dinozords to the beach sand below, nearly destroying the grounded Pink and Blue Rangers, who leapt out of the way.

"Triceratops! No!" Tracey bellowed, starting toward his fallen companion. But before he could reach the Zord, another rocket slammed right into it, tearing a gaping hole in its back and causing it to screech.

The Mastodon and Saber-Toothed Tiger weren't faring any better, and within seconds, the Black and Yellow Rangers were forced to eject as Rita cackled.

"I can't believe this…" Misty choked out, her voice hollow once again. She stumbled as the Dinozords were caught in a mess of sparks and flames. "She can't…"

"We've gotta form the Megazord," Brock asserted as the Dragon Dinozord slowly lumbered toward the shore.

"Right," Misty said, regaining a firm tone. "Alpha, we need to summon the Tyrannosarus! Can we do that via remote?"

Her Communicator crackled as the robot tried to answer. "Yes," he said. "I'll reroute our Summon Link to…"

"Don't even try," Rita cut in, still atop an invisible perch. "He'll be one lonely lizard when he gets up!"

Lia, who still wasn't saying a word, instantly drew her Blade Blaster and fired several shots at the evil empress, who easily deflected them with the round tip of her wand. Growling, the Pink Ranger pushed her comrades away and drew her Ptera Bow, readying an arrow for the witch's black heart. As she drew the string back, a huge swath of mist—courtesy of the Dragonzord's maw—buffered her back, throwing off sparks from her protective suit.

"Lia!" Brock shouted, trying to hold her back. "We're not strong enough right now!"

Pink Ranger ignored her friend's plea and went to attack the villainess again, but she was interrupted by a high-pitched scream. The ocean's surface broke yet again, and the Pterodactyl Dinozord rose from below, scrapes and scars adorning its body. The creature opened its mouth to scream again and swiftly circled around the Dragonzord, positioning its body in front of the Rangers.

The Dragonzord screeched while Scorpina and Rita laughed, but Lia's voice finally broke through all of the noise.

"Attack him now!" she cried, her voice grating in everyone's ears. But the Pterodactyl wouldn't budge, screeching at its partner. As it did, a one-word message appeared in each Ranger's HUD: BROTHER.

"Brother? What?" Lia questioned as the Zords were at a standstill. Finally, the fighting had stopped.

"She doesn't want to hurt him," Misty added. "None of our Zords did. There is another way..."

Rita Repulsa cackled once more and waved her staff, snapping the Dragonzord back to her attention. The mythic titan then whipped its massive tail around, sending the Pterodactyl crashing into the other Dinozords. The Zord then roared again and, along with Scorpina, launched a barrage of fire in a huge arc above the boardwalk, right toward Kau Cove.

"Stop!" the Power Rangers demanded, rushing up to the Dragonzord, who repelled them all with another blast of acidic breath.

"Well, that's enough fun for now," Rita sighed, raising her wand high in the air. "Dragonzord! Scorpina! It is time to go. We'll see you Power Failures back at home."

Before she and her lady warrior vanished, the sorceress flung her wand into the sandy earth, releasing a wave of orange energy that ensnared the four Dinozords. The Power Rangers could do little else but writhe in the pain of the battle and reach toward their robotic friends as the water turned a fiery orange, large globs of lava rising up and reaching over the sand. The group bolted toward their vehicles, screaming and trying to use their last bits of super strength to pull them away, but it was all for naught. The tendrils of lava gripped each bellowing Dinozord, quickly pulling them into the depths of the ocean. As its brethren were dragged into the abyss, the Dragon Dinozord let out a final cry and returned there as well.

Brock, Lia, Tracey, and Misty sank down into the sand, their suits disappearing back into the Morphing Grid due to the strain of the assault. All four teenagers' mouths were open, but no sounds came out. As the waves turned back to a calm aquamarine, the flames began to rise from the city, and the tears began to flow from the heroes' eyes.


	2. Lost in the Mist

The four Power Rangers were immediately warped from Kau Cove to the Command Center, and not one of them wanted to be there. They tried to push the teleport buttons on their Communicators, but there they stood on the smooth purple floor.

"Come on! Let's go!" Brock yelled, mashing the button over and over.

"Alpha, why are we back here?!" Misty screamed, getting up in the robot's saucer-shaped face. "The Dinozords are gone!"

"There has to be a way to get them back…" Tracey muttered to himself shakily, repeating the sentence as he paced around the computer terminals, pushing buttons. "Energy trace… Energy trace…"

"They can't be gone…they can't be… Well, we have to go back out there anyway," Brock growled, sniffling back the tears.

"You are in no condition to fight right now, Brock," Alpha 5 interjected, scuttling up to the eldest teenager. "We are barely in a condition to do much, anyway. Our Teleportation Link just crashed again, and the Summon Link is still experiencing trouble."

"But you saw all of that!" Misty screamed again, her face getting redder and redder. "Even Rita came down and…she destroyed a part of us…"

"No she didn't," Alpha said calmly. "You don't believe that, Misty."

Misty sucked in a couple of breaths and wiped her face with her yellow sweater sleeve. "No, of course not. But she's really good at making that seem so."

"Exactly," Tracey added, bringing up a reading on a nearby computer screen. "All six Dino Energy Scans still read as active. But our Zords wavelengths are extremely weak, and they are definitely trapped underneath the sea…and I have no idea how to raise them." He gritted his teeth and clenched the sides of the computer until his knuckles turned white.

Meanwhile, Lia was calibrating the Viewing Globe's frequency, setting the picture to show Kau Cove. She gasped and struck the side of the sphere when she saw what was going on.

"I don't believe this…" she nearly whispered, sinking back to her friends, who gathered around her to see what Scorpina and Dragonzord's barrage had caused. Flames were swallowing up entire buildings, streets were blown to bits, and scores of people were fleeing from the chaos. Everyone also saw several EMTs and paramedics loading people into stretchers, firefighters pulling people from burning buildings, and heard so many screams.

"How are we supposed to help them if you keep calling us back?" Brock questioned Alpha. "We're not supposed to give up and stand to the side."

"But remember, that's just it," Lia posed, turning to him. "She's draining us each time we don't go out there prepared."

"Precisely," Alpha said, the red lights in his visor bouncing back and forth as he spoke. "We haven't had a real chance to regroup all day, but the authorities in Kau Cove are controlling things right now, so we have some time."

"That's right," Lia affirmed, frowning but remaining calm. "And we still have to save Ash and Zordon. Alpha, have you gotten a reading on either of them?"

Alpha dipped his golden head, and then said, "I finally detected Zordon's life energy reading in a subsection of the Delta Quadrant. I was rerouting our wavelengths to reach him and did so for a few moments."

"That's when he told me to stop my attack on the Green Ranger…" Lia said.

"Correct," Alpha continued, leading the humans back to the terminals. "But unfortunately, the connection was lost thanks to the power being sapped in the battle."

"And losing the Zords has done nothing to help that…" Misty uttered, slumping over another console. "We can't keep going without Ash, that's for certain." She brushed a few strands out of her eyes, which were heavy with concern. "Where could he be?"

Tracey went up to her and stood at her side, checking out another console. "We're going to get him back," he assured her. "He's too tough to just disappear without a fight."

Lia stood off to the side of the chamber, reaching into her bag and pulling out _Amalei's Hidden Treasures. _She just looked at the book and shook her head.

"Of all the things that could take us down, it's another Ranger," she said glumly, thumbing through the pages. "Of course that's how Rita wins."

"Don't give up, Lia," Brock interrupted, putting his arm around her. "You're the last person that needs to be feeling that way."

"I'm not giving up. I just don't get it," Lia replied, glancing at Brock and back at the tome. "If Zordon did have the Dragon Coin, then we must be able to bring the Green Ranger from Rita's side to ours."

"But he just came out of nowhere," Brock responded. "And Rita's had that coin for thousands of years. Who knows what she's done?"

"Guys!" Misty yelled from the computer terminal. Static crackled and whirred as something was coming through—Goldar's voice.

"You can't hide forever, Red Ranger! Give up! I'll be merciful…"

As the mist in the Dark Dimension climbed higher and higher, Goldar slowly paced through the room, laughing to himself. He now has Ash's Power Morpher in his gnarly left paw again, jabbing at the ground with his sword in his right hand.

"Unless you grab hold of this Morpher, you'll be totally drained of your energy!" Goldar taunted as he trudged, his crimson eyes gleaming with glee. "Come out, human! You know you can't escape your fate…"

As the simian creature kept talking, Ash slid across the hard green floor on his stomach, dragging his white karate belt with him. His face was drenched with sweat, but he never opened his mouth to openly breathe. One wrong sound would give him away.

As he moved and tried to peer through the fog, he slowly undid the ties on his gi jacket. For a split second, he saw Goldar's brawny calf just a few feet in front of him. It was time.

"You're only hurting yourself, weakling," Goldar said, raising his blade again. "Running from me only tires you out. How will it feel to have your friends know you died a coward?"

In that moment, Rita's henchman felt something snap around his legs, locking him in place. Goldar swiped at the mist to see Ash roping his belt around his lower extremities.

"Fool!" the monster chortled, stomping toward the boy and closing the distance in the obscurity. In one thrust, he sent his jagged blade right through Ash's jacket and into the ground. But Goldar made a confused grunt as the familiar feeling of blade piercing flesh was missing. He swiped through the mist again and saw Ash rolling away from his jacket and the sword, pulling his binds tightly and forcing him to the ground. The blade slipped and Ash kicked it away. As Goldar began to get up, Ash ran at him with full force, grabbing him by the neck and flooring him with a spinning neckbreaker.

"I'm no coward, but I do know how to think on my feet. How does it feel to taste some of your own medicine, Goldar?" the young man quipped, going over to wrench his Power Morpher from his paw. As he moved downward, Ash was thrown back by a huge backfist that he barely blocked.

"Cunning!" the beast snarled, rising to his feet. "But no human has ever beaten Goldar one-on-one! And it certainly won't be you!"

Goldar charged straight at Ash, his right hand going right for Ash's jugular, but the boy sidestepped the strike, pushing his arm, and with a roar retaliated with a jump side kick to his chest. The gold goon rocked right into the wall, causing him to drop the Power Morpher. Ash nimbly rolled to the ground and retrieved it, forcing himself up despite his fatigue.

"It's…"

However, before Ash could call on his powers, someone's leg crashed into his arms and knocked it to the floor yet again. That same leg kicked Ash straight in the ribs and next to one of the spider-like windows of the Dark Dimension.

"It's time to face someone else," The Evil Green Ranger said.


	3. Enduring a Revelation

"Oh no…" Misty breathed, hearing the Evil Green Ranger's words over the Command Center's intercom. She pounded on the console and shouted, "Green Ranger… Ash, get out of there!"

"He can't hear us," Alpha said, checking a monitor. "According to the computer, he's somewhere where our two-way communications can't be established."

"Then let's get him out of there!" Misty walked next to Alpha, who was busy at the nearby panel, and asked, "Where is he located?"

The screen flickered for a moment or two before giving the answer: Red Ranger Energy Signature: Sector 5B… Before the final two characters could come up, the screen bugged out yet again, producing only static. The sound then overtook the yells of fighting coming from the transmission.

"Sector 5B… 5B what?"

"I'll start searching the related sections," Tracey announced, going over to the panel and eyeballing the multicolored buttons. "Guys, go with Alpha and try to secure our connection streams."

The other Rangers nodded and went over to their robot friend. Tracey sighed and held his neck where he had been previously stabbed by the Green Ranger. While the others had helped repair things with Alpha's guidance, he had been quicker on the uptake thanks to all those years in Professor Oak's lab. He just had to find their friend before it was too late.

In the Dark Dimension, Ash could certainly use his friends' assistance. As Goldar recovered in the background, the Evil Green Ranger kicked Ash's Power Morpher to the far side of the chamber, chuckling evilly.

"Get out of the way, Green Ranger," Goldar warned, retrieving his blade. "I intend to finish off this little pest."

"Empress Rita has personally requested me to dispose of him," the Green Ranger said, not taking his eyes off of Ash, who was buckling to his knees. "It is clear you cannot handle even a human child."

"Your insolence has worn on me, Hayashi!" Goldar snapped. "Move aside or you will suffer!"

The possessed Hayashi grunted, cracking his gloved knuckles and saying to Ash, "Quite bothersome, isn't he?"

That did it. Rita's right-hand beast immediately thrust his sword forward, aiming for Green Ranger's spine, but he caught the blade under his arm and smashed Goldar's nose with a backfist and an elbow strike. Goldar went with the blow and caught the Ranger in the chest with a spinning knee to the ribs. He then tossed his opponent away and started for him again. As Goldar prepared to impale the Green Ranger, Rita's prized puppet rolled over and quickly tossed a blast of dark green energy at his attacker, sending him flying.

As the Ranger caught his breath, he caught sight of Ash dashing for his Morpher out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh no you don't!" he said, tossing another crackling green sphere. This one enveloped Ash in a curtain of shocks, knocking him to the floor once more.

The Evil Green Ranger stood erect and walked over to his new target, bypassing a writhing Goldar.

"Go on and get out of here while you still can," he ordered, not even looking at him. Goldar grimaced, turned his gaze to Ash, and then disappeared in a plume of fire.

Ash slowly rolled to his stomach, and every second of movement was just a nightmare. Crackling, stinging, searing…he couldn't describe the anguish as he attempted to stand. He looked over his arms, which were burning beet red. He didn't know how much longer his connection to the Dino Power would keep him from burning to a crisp.

"Your endurance is impressive," the Green Ranger said, slowly stepping in time with Ash. "You Power Rangers are indeed skilled and hardy, but you will not be alive much longer."

"Shut up, Hayashi!" Ash yelled, fighting the urge to lunge for his so-called friend. "Just shut up! I don't want to fight you!"

"It's okay to be scared, Ash," Hayashi taunted. "You don't want to fight because know I'll win."

"If you're truly a Power Ranger, you'd be fighting Rita instead of us!" Ash shot back.

"But I'm not a Power Ranger," Hayashi said, breathing calmly as the two kept eyeing each other. "I'm Rita's Evil Green Ranger, and she is my queen. Your world _will _be hers."

With that said, the Green Ranger snapped into a battle stance and began throwing punches at Ash, who rotated his hips and blocked them to the side. As the boy from Pallet Town shuffled back, Hayashi retaliated with a spin heel kick, but Ash caught his boot with a double hooking block and flipped him backward. The Evil Green Ranger landed right on his feet went to get his hands up, but he was met with a high sliding side kick to his jaw.

After his foe fell on his back, nursing his jaw, Ash crumpled yet again. The exhaustion was almost too much, but he had to do something. Pushing his black bangs away from his eyes, he breathed in and thrust himself next to the Green Ranger, reaching for his Power Coin. Maybe if he took the coin, he could stop Rita's trance or whatever she did to him.

"Come on, man. I can help you!" he pleaded as Hayashi caught his hands. "You help me!"

"You're a terrible liar!" Green Ranger hissed, taking Ash by the arms and flipping him over into an armbar. "I have taught you to get you to this point. You will see that I am the greatest warrior in the universe."

"Section 5B58- no signal. Section 5B59- no signal."

"He's gotta be around here…" Tracey groaned, pressing one button combination after another. This particular tracking system was not fully up to speed thanks to the Green Ranger's assault, so he slowly had to scan each section of the Amalei Region. But Ash was not there.

Tracey groaned again and mopped his eyes with his blue t-shirt sleeve. "I can't find him anywhere on this island. So he's obviously not being held captive here."

Alpha, who was working with the other three on stabilizing the connections, offered, "Then perhaps he was taken into another dimension like you were."

"Sounds like Rita, all right," Brock muttered, tightening some bolts in a console with a wrench. "Maybe there's a reading on some portal Ash was taken into."

"Doubtful right now," Lia said, who came over to look at the computer readout of the section findings. "With our system fried, we could only locate active ones. The residual energy would be too minute to find." She then turned to Misty, who was running an molecular output test per Alpha's instructions. 'How's it coming?"

"Things look normal," Misty reported. "But why the search is so slow, I have no idea."

"Man, if only we could give this thing a power surge," Brock commented.

"We have enough, so getting a horde of Pikachu here to jolt wouldn't do much," Lia joked, making Brock smile just a little.

"No…he's right!" Tracey realized, snapping his fingers. "The molecular output is full, but it's weak. If we exponentially increase the speed, it may just come back down and stabilize, kind of like an AED."

Alpha scurried over to Tracey, looking over the readout. "It could work, but the surge may destroy the system if the output is too much!" he chimed.

"It's better than doing nothing," Tracey said, cracking his knuckles. "Keep your fingers crossed, everyone."

The tech mind set to work, pressing a series of green, orange, and purple keys on the console. Within seconds, the lights in the Command Center flashed so bright everyone had to shield their eyes, but it was only temporary. After that, the lights dimmed and then returned to their normal luminescence.

"It worked!" Tracey shouted, the computer beeping with rapid tones. "That's a nominal tone!"

"Way to go, Tracey!" Brock congratulated. The boy smiled at his friends, who returned the look with high fives from the three and a cheer from Alpha.

Lia turned to the console, which was now scanning for any extraterrestrial openings in the area. "Look!" she exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "It's got something!"

Everyone else looked at the results, and they subsequently furrowed their brows in confusion at what they saw.

"It's at the Union," Misty said. "Earlier this afternoon."

"But I was there," Brock explained. "I didn't see any monsters there."

"Who could have taken him?" Lia asked.

Ash's heartbeat hammered in his ears. It was slow, but at least it was still there. He had spent the past few minutes absorbing several crushing kicks and strikes from Hayashi, and had only managed to land a few of his own—the last one being a spin punch that just bounced off his golden chest shield.

"I have to keep going…I have to keep going," he said to himself, backing away from the approaching challenger.

"Tough, right?" Green Ranger challenged, the mist in the room making his dragon helmet appear to be ready to breathe fire. "Not so easy when you have no friends or electric rats to bail you out."

"You leave my Pokémon out of this," Ash retorted. "We've always fought together."

Green Ranger chuckled, bursting out into maniacal laughter. "Please, boy. I know all about you and your father. He's a real disciplined warrior who fought alongside some of the most powerful creatures on Earth, which means they're pretty weak compared to me and Empress Rita. You're just a lost little journeyman with no real victories. So are your friends."

"You can't mean this," Ash said, gauging Hayashi. Neither young man was making a move. "You can't mean this. You're talking about your sister! She's strong just like you! Fight for her!"

"She's a liar, just like you," Hayashi returned. "She never told me she was a Power Ranger. But now that I know the truth, Dear Little Sis will get it worse than any of you." A cloud of green flames appeared in his hands, revealing the Sword of Darkness. He pointed it straight at Ash and noticed him putting his hands together. "Go ahead and pray."

The Evil Green Ranger swung his angular blade back and forth, going to cleave Ash in two, but the sword was stopped by the emergence of the shimmering red Dino Crystal. The two struggled for a bit, but then Hayashi snickered as he dove the point of the Sword of Darkness right for Ash's forehead. But Zordon's warrior was too quick this time, diving out of the way and dropping his crystal, making it shatter on the dimension's floor. As the Green Ranger stopped himself from falling into the electrified window nearest him, he turned and saw Ash finally reach his Power Morpher. He ran toward the boy to deal one more blow, but he was too late, and Ash was gone in a flash of red light.

"I've got a lock-on!" Tracey called out as he pressed a final command on the console with a white button. Now that the Summon Link was back to normal, it had to work. And sure enough, a streak of red light fell onto the surface of the Command Center, materializing into a burned, shirtless Ash.

Expectant pursed lips turned into wide smiles as the four Rangers and Alpha came upon him. He barely had time to open his mouth to breathe as he was swallowed up in a sea of shouts and shoulder pats.

"Welcome home, buddy," Brock said, slapping hands with him.

"You look terrible," Lia added, looking at his wounds. "What happened to you?"

"Easy, guys," Ash protested, trying to sink down again. "Goldar and the Green Ranger gave me a little more room than this."

"I getcha," Tracey said, patting his back. "We're just glad you're safe." Alpha then motioned him to come over to the computer once more.

Ash leaned up against a control panel, breathing and looking up at the starry skyline of the Command Center. He allowed himself a smile and stretched his arms when Misty approached him, looking at him warmly. She then did something she had never done before, throwing her arms around Ash and pulling him close.

"We missed you so much," she said, blinking a couple of times. She would not cry. "Things have really gotten bad here."

Ash raised his eyebrows for a second in surprise, but he was beaming all the way. He then drew back a little and locked eyes with Misty, whose elated expression never left her as well. "I expected that. But we're gonna get back on track. But at least you're in one piece, Mist."

"It's crazy," Misty began. "Our Zords have…"

"Ay-yi-yi!" Alpha squealed. Ash and Misty immediately joined him and the others near the computer to see what was the matter. "I don't believe it!"

"What is it, Alpha?" Ash inquired.

"The security records have shown that Zordon did restrain the Green Ranger when he invaded the Command Center," Alpha started. "While he was immobile, his biological signs were recorded in our Morphing Grid."

"That means we can find out who he is," Brock realized. "Can we get the data?"

"It's coming up on the Viewing Globe now."

Ash suddenly went cold, his eyes widening. He began to mumble incoherently, causing the others to notice.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Lia asked. Ash just shook his head, looking away from his friends and the globe, which began to project the image of the Green Ranger's real face. Lia turned to see the visage, and her jaw dropped along with everyone else's.


	4. Mind to Mind, Heart to Heart

_"You couldn't put him away after all that?"_

_"He proved to have more fight in him than I thought, my mistress."_

The sun was setting on Feron Grove and, thankfully, another day of turmoil brought on by Rita Repulsa. With the Dragonzord operational and four Dinozords down, nobody was safe from the witch's wrath—not even her Evil Green Ranger.

_"I watched the entire thing!" _Rita's voice shrieked as Hayashi continued strolling down the sidewalk to his home. _"Your way of doing things is going to cost us everything! Why haven't you destroyed any of the Rangers?!"_

Hayashi sighed and put his hands in his pockets, forcefully nudging himself past a couple of kids who were showing off masks to each other; Halloween was only a couple of days away. _"I want to see the Power Rangers suffer, just as you ordered, Empress Rita." _Hayashi silently told Rita._ "Now that their Zords are gone along with their leader, they are now powerless to stand against me."_

_"You're underestimating them just like all of those other failures!" _the sorceress snapped back. Her voice pierced the boy's brain and made him stumble over his own two feet. _"You should have stopped at nothing to demolish their Command Center and destroy them! Maybe Goldar was right about you."_

Hayashi gritted his teeth and growled out loud, "That stupid ape has no idea how to win this war, much less any battle he's been in. With all due respect, Empress Rita, I suggest you leave me to my work if you want anything done right."

_"Don't run your mouth to me, boy," _Rita said, her voice low. _"Keep in mind that you don't own any of your power."_

Her voice left after that statement, and Hayashi simply shook his head and yawned as he approached his front door. Though he was glad to serve her, Rita need not tell him how to handle the Power Rangers. They would fall in _his_ time.

Hayashi made his way up the smooth brown staircase that led to his upstairs room. He didn't hear a sound when he opened the front door, so he guessed his parents weren't home yet. As he rounded the corner to go to his room, he turned to see Lia's door open. His sister kept her eyes out the window, the setting sun making her post-shower locks glisten.

"You doing alright, sis?" Hayashi asked, leaning up against the doorway.

Lia sighed and turned around in her chair, wincing as she straightened up. "Was a pretty busy day at the beach. And the Pokémon will be doing just fine."

"Nice," her brother replied, shifting around. "Is Misty doing any better? I tried to text her, but she didn't respond."

"It's been rough, but she's been bucking up," Lia answered, sitting still as a statue. "The karate clinic go well?"

Hayashi chuckled and brushed a long lock of blonde hair away from his eye. "Sure did. These students have come so far since August. We all have grown. Better technique and much, much stronger."

As he turned to leave, Hayashi was stopped by another question from Lia.

"If you're that strong, how come you can't fight Rita?"

Hayashi stood erect, his amiable tone growing flat. "Believe me, I can, Lia. But I won't."

"What did she do to you?" Lia questioned, bringing herself to her feet. "You wouldn't really do this to me. You don't hurt people."

"She showed me the truth," Hayashi said, getting right in his sister's face. "You've been lying all this time, Pink Ranger. Who keeps such a secret from her big brother?"

"You know that's something I could never just tell anyone, Hayashi," Lia said back, her voice rising. "No matter how much I wanted to let you or Mom and Dad know."

"And that's where you and I are different!" the elder Feran sibling snapped, putting a finger under Lia's chin. "You hold back and let your precious emotions and friends hold you back. I know the greater truth about how you humans stole Empress Rita's land from her. I will see that she gets it back, with interest."

Lia furrowed her brow, struggling to not bare her teeth at her own brother. "I don't want to fight you," she snarled. "I love you. Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey, they love you. But don't think I won't stop you, whatever it takes."

Hayashi looked down at Lia's hands. They were in tight, trembling fists. "You're in no position to be doing anything now," Hayashi warned, stepping away and out the door.

Lia raised her hands and started after her brother, but before she could chase him, she heard a downstairs door open.

"Lia! Hayashi! Come on and give us a hand!" their father called out.

The younger Feran girl sighed again and opened her hands, her nails leaving small openings in her palms. She watched Hayashi walk down the corridor from his room and toward the stairs, and Lia reluctantly went to join him.


	5. A House Divided

Dinner was a quiet affair for Lia at the Feran home that night. Her mind was brimming with thoughts and replays of everything that happened that day. She mostly stayed silent, picking at her grilled shrimp and vegetables as her parents talked.

"I mean, I've seen and heard some pretty strange things, but this is just too bizarre," Mrs. Feran commented. "A giant mechanical dragon rising from the sea…"

"Not really, hon," Mr. Feran said, taking a drink of water and continuing. "We're the only island within hundreds of miles to not have a huge presence of animals with magic powers. Of course we'd get some more, even if they are made of metal." He chuckled and took another drink, wiping off his gray mustache.

Mrs. Feran put her palm to her face and removed her thin glasses. "You didn't let me finish, Smith. It doesn't make sense that it would attack a town like that. The reports say that thing looked like one of those Zords, so why would it do that?"

"It's probably under some sort of control," Hayashi explained, who was making his way through a second helping of seafood. "Another Ranger will likely show up soon if that dragon is a Dinozord."

"Unbelievable…" Lia whispered, going to chew a small stalk of broccoli.

Hayashi shook his head and said, "You got that right."

A few hours later, Lia stretched out on her bed, ready for sleep to take over her being. She then sat up, craned her head back on her upturned pillow, and closed her eyes, breathing deep. No, not time for sleep yet.

A couple of minutes barely passed when Mr. Feran walked by her open door. He watched his daughter breathe in and out ever so slowly, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.

"A lot on your mind, huh sweetie?" he asked, taking a couple of steps in.

Lia said nothing, choosing to nod.

The father came over to the bed and put an arm around Lia. "Is there anything you want to talk about? I know a lot's been going on."

Lia sighed and opened her eyes. "No, Dad," she said, still sitting cross-legged. "It's just been so insane…weird monsters popping up everywhere anyone goes. But it's not the strangest thing."

"Yeah," Mr. Feran said. "But it sure isn't the most convenient. Even though your mother and I worry about you two, we know you've got good heads on you. You'll be okay." He squeezed his daughter a little bit and Lia smiled.

"Thanks, Dad," she spoke as he left the room. "Night."

"Night."

Lia ran a hand through her hair and straightened herself up, going back to her meditation. She had to get it together and work out a plan. Before she could inhale deeply again, her phone's text tone rang out.

_"I thought I turned that thing off," _she said to herself, checking the message. It was from Misty.

_Everyone's home for now, and they say everything checks out with their folks._

Lia wiped her brow in relief. The last thing she needed was their secret identities to be revealed. She then continued the conversation.

_Awesome, Misty. I wish that wasn't the only thing that was._

_Hey, nowhere to go but up. That's what I keep telling myself… Is Hayashi still playing it off?_

_Obviously not. He says we stole Rita's planet, we're the enemy, blah blah blah. I don't believe this…_

_I do. But to create her own Ranger means that Rita must be desperate. We'll get him back, and she'll be done._

_Hope so… Night girl :)_

_Night :)_

Lia reached into her sweatpants pocket and drew out her Pterodactyl Power Coin. Gazing at it, she scrunched her eyes shut and balled up her other hand, wanting to just go out and comb the ocean to find her Dinozord, go back and find Zordon, everything. But she took a deep breath and clutched her coin, slinking down in bed and closing her eyes. She would be no good running around like her and her friends were being forced to do. She would take time and gather everything together, after just a couple seconds of rest.

"You need not push yourself so hard, son," Mr. Feran cautioned.

Hayashi paced back and forth across his bedroom floor as his father spoke. He put his hands to his face and groaned. "But this test is gonna be a real big one," he protested. He stretched his arms and rotated his neck.

"It's not like you're testing this time," his dad replied, clapping his son on the shoulder as he groaned again. "I know it's your first time head judging, but you've been preparing for this moment."

"We're all in this one together," Hayashi said, craning his head downward.

"That's right," Mr. Feran concurred. "So take your own advice. There's no use getting up in arms. Those kids, your students will be doing just fine. And you'll do just fine." He paused for a few seconds and jostled his son's shoulder. "Get some rest, Hayashi."

"Sure, Dad. Thanks."

After his father left his room, Hayashi still kept pacing. All throughout dinner and the few hours in between, all he could think about was Ash escaping the point of his sword. Rita had been patient with him up until now, and even though she was his empress, he wasn't going to have his tactics questioned.

Hayashi stopped and pounded his wooden bedpost with his fist. He had to admit, he thought he would have destroyed at least one Power Ranger by now.

_"Even with those Dinozords gone, they can make trouble…" _he thought to himself.

_Yes, they can. _Rita's voice again. _Tyrannosaurus Rex is still waiting in the wings. And every second you wait, they have more time to plan!_

_Please, Empress Rita! This is all draining them! The Power Rangers will know that they have no way to stop us, even if they do bring their wizard back._

_If, if, if! I appreciate your love of torture, but you're leaving everything to chance. Even Goldar wanted to keep fighting when his mug was getting pounded in! Your pest of a sister is right. You can't destroy them!_

_That's enough out of you!_

As Hayashi silently screamed back, an intense burning constricted his brain and his heart. He buckled to the ground and tried to gasp out, but he could barely breathe.

_Your insolence will get you nowhere, boy! You think you're in control? I gave you your powers! I control the Dragonzord!_

"No…no you don't you…" Hayashi tried to reach for his Morpher, but he was brought down by even more pain.

_I dare you to talk back to me again, Feran._

The young man gritted his teeth and gasped again, a few droplets of blood escaping his mouth. "What if I bring the Rangers into total despair, into madness? They can destroy themselves in a matter of moments."

A couple of minutes passed. Hayashi could have sword he had lost his hearing. And then…

_Go on…_

The pain subsided bit by bit, and Hayashi reached his arms out and brought forth the Sword of Darkness. He turned it around in his quivering hands and ran his finger to the tip of the blade. He took a look at his desk, which featured a picture of him and his karate students from a few months ago.

"Let's just say the Power Rangers will be witness to an old-fashioned sacrifice, just in time for Halloween."


	6. Dragon Standoff

**AUTHOR NOTE: Hey Ranger fans! Thanks so much for your support and interest in my series. I'm so glad to see other big Power Ranger fans with a taste for stepping into other franchises.**

**The ****_Evil Green Chronicles _****will be wrapping up soon, with Episode 9 coming right along. Just to let you know, the updates for Episode 9 may come along a little slowly since the first eight episodes will be undergoing revision for grammar, clarity, etc. Each episode will have a new format (complete with intro and cast list), as well as a remastered version of Episode 1 (Don't worry, no sparkles and such like the "Remastered" MMPR they actually did a while back.) So keep an eye out for any updates or messages I may send.**

**And speaking of the sample "cast list," after this episode, I will be finalizing the MMPR voice cast, so voice actors you have seen in the list may not be there next time. If you have anyone you'd like to see "voice" the characters, send me an email or PM! Thanks!**

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

The second hand of a clock never seemed so loud to Ash, Misty, Tracey, Lia, and Brock than it did the following day at school. No matter what class they were in, each tick of the clock kept the five friends on edge.

In their shared biology class, Brock and Lia, who were two of the most attentive students there, barely remembered a word of what Professor Goldstein said about the makeup of certain tropical viruses. Brock was taking notes, but he always kept his eye on the folded newspaper tucked in the corner of his notebook. Roughly a hundred civilians were rushed to the hospital in Kau Cove after yesterday's attack, forty of them in critical condition. Firefighters were out until the early morning hours dousing the blazes that caught the buildings. Meanwhile, Lia was furiously making sketches of the surrounding seaside, trying to figure out where they could establish a blockade against Dragonzord while searching for the Dinozords.

Things weren't going much better for Tracey. In one of his programming courses, he kept experiencing error after error as his fingers flew across his keyboard.

Riley, one of his classmates who was sitting nearby and noticed the boy grunting, took a look at Tracey's screen and raised his eyebrows. "Whoa, so that's the problem," he said. "You're usually so careful with your coding.

Tracey backed up and rubbed his eyes. "It's pretty tricky," he replied.

"Really? These are simple mistakes. You're probably working too fast."

Tracey turned toward Riley and sighed. "Maybe. Just got a lot to do today, man." Riley shrugged while Tracey turned back to the screen. He squinted at the screen, trying to focus on the earthly code in front of him, but all he could see was the extraterrestrial numbers and figures that somewhere had the key to rescuing Zordon. He then remembered the conversation he had with Brock earlier that morning as they walked to school.

_"With the computer back on its feet, we can really comb the outer reaches of those galactic quadrants," Tracey remarked._

_"Yeah," Brock said, folding his arms behind his head. "Zordon will be back in the Command Center before we know it."_

_Both males looked into the newly sunny sky for a few moments, trying to take in some semblance of peace before Tracey spoke again._

_"I just can't believe Zordon's been gone this whole time. He's given us so much. He's always had an answer even when things seemed unbeatable."_

_Brock chuckled and looked over at him. "You're sort of right," he assured his younger friend. "Even when Dragonzord and Scorpina were stomping around, he broke through to let us know there is a way. But he's always been here."_

Finally, the last bell rung, and kids piled out of classrooms in droves, ready to be free of their cases of the Mondays. Misty and Ash were the first ones out of their government class, heading for the huge double front doors.

"Darn test…" Ash grumbled, shifting his backpack. "Just the perfect time…"

"I know," Misty said, her face locked in a hard expression. "But it's not like we can just bail." She was limping a little as she walked.

"You should walk a little slower," Ash supplied, noticing her pain. "That bag's gotta be heavy. I'll carry it."

Misty slightly grinned and said, "Used to be me carrying you, in a way."

"Hey, I can't recall the last time I couldn't walk after a gym loss," Ash retorted, returning the look. "I just may have to carry you up the river if you keep at it." He then whispered, "Not that I'd mind."

As the two pushed past a clump of students congregating near lockers, they saw Hayashi quickly making his way through the hall, a couple of other boys following close behind—two of his karate students.

"Come on, Hayashi," one of them said, scratching his beard. "Me and my little brother could use some pointers practicing."

"Now's not the time," Hayashi answered coldly, straightening his green button-up shirt.

"The master sensei isn't gonna be here until the test Thursday," the other kid protested. "We only have one other class. We need all the help we can get."

Hayashi shook his head. "Sometimes you've gotta be on your own. I can't always be there to help you. We'll talk later."

Ditching the two boys, he turned around to see Ash and Misty standing together. He smirked at both of them while the two teens glared at him. At that moment, Tracey, Brock, and Lia happened upon the group, standing with their friends. A few moments passed, glares and worrisome looks meeting each other.. Hayashi laughed a little and shrugged his shoulders.

Misty finally broke the silence, reaching over to grab Hayashi's arm. "Hayashi, please," she whispered.

Hayashi pulled away from her grip, scoffing. "Famous last words." And with that, he jogged away and out of the school entrance.

Lia turned to Misty, giving her a look that said, "Talking does no good." Misty nodded in agreement, and the five went to exit the school. By the time they got outside, Hayashi had seemingly vanished.

With the exception of a few people fishing, nobody populated the banks of the Ko River, which was perfect, as streaks of yellow, red, and black light touched down behind several tall trees, materializing into Misty, Ash, and Brock. Looking to make sure the coast was clear, the three stepped out from behind the foliage and to the basin where they had fought the Putties a couple of days prior.

"The scan detected a dinosaur-based energy imprint around this area," Brock said, his hand on his Communicator button. "It's gotta be the Dragon Dagger."

"Precisely," Alpha commented over the device. "But even with our scanners at full capacity, we can't detect the exact location of the dagger."

"Then that means Rita's been monkeying around here," Ash said, striking his hand.

"Perhaps," the robot said. "Be careful, Rangers."

"We will," Brock answered, ending the transmission. The teens started up the hillside, the soft babbling of the water mingling with the chirping of nearby birds. As they kept going, all of the leaves and blades of grass on the little waterway's sides appeared to become even thicker and greener, and the water began to look so clear that they could see the tiny bits of sediment at the bottom.

The river took a curving left turn into some brush, forcing Ash, Misty, and Brock to crawl and push past several thick fronds. While they progressed, a ragged breathing sound cut through the air.

"Guys, are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Yeah," Brock, who was to his right, said. "Why?"

"I hear something, like somebody breathing."

"Well I hope we'd be breathing," Misty replied, clearing some more leaves away.

Ash shook his head and pulled some more leaves apart. The breathing had been getting louder, and suddenly reached a crescendo as a huge shape burst through the trees, bowling past the kids.

"Hey! What the…" Misty uttered, barely drawing her arm back in time. The three turned to see Baboo trying to pull himself up after tumbling.

"So I guess I was right about monkeying around…" Ash remarked. Both Brock and Misty winced and pushed his shoulder.

"Baboo, what are you doing here?" Misty inquired.

"It…It…It's your problem now!" the man-bat shrieked, screaming and bolting away, eventually disappearing in a pale blue flash.

The three friends looked at each other for a moment, then went to press on. The evil scientist's words could only mean trouble.

A few minutes later, the group reached the stream's end, which was a small, circular pool in a clearing. As the three approached it, a shimmering noise could be heard in the quiet of the woods. Ash, Misty, and Brock retrieved their Power Morphers and saw the Tyrannosaurus, Saber-Toothed Tiger, and Mastodon Coins glowing bright.

"It's here," Misty announced. "But why did Baboo not steal it?"

"Maybe he couldn't assume something infused with Dino Power," Ash answered. "Probably shocked him or something."

"Hope so. Let's try our Power Coins." Brock suggested. The other two nodded and removed the coins from the devices, holding all three together. Yet, nothing happened.

"We probably need all five Rangers here," Ash said, pressing his Communicator button. "Tracey,Lia, we found the Dragon Dagger's location, but we need you here now!"

Instead of a human voice, a high-pitched roar rang out over the Communicator. It was Dragonzord.

"Sorry, guys," Lia finally cut in. "But the Dragon Dinozord is back! It's still in the water, but it won't be long before it reaches land!"

"Where are you guys?" Misty questioned, putting her Power Coin back in her Morpher. "We're coming!"

"We're…" the reply came in, but suddenly cut out, only to be replaced by Tracey's voice. "He's a few hundred yards out from the docks. Don't worry about us! Go get the dagger!" The transmission then disengaged.

"Great, now it's going from bad to worse…" Ash sighed, running up to the pool and diving his arm in the water. "It's gotta…ahh!"

"Ash!" Misty and Brock cried as their friend fell into the water. The two kicked off their shoes and dropped feet-first into the pool to catch up with him, sinking like stones for several feet before hitting a rocky floor. They then saw Ash, who was crouched down and facing a small, cavernous opening. Noticing somebody approaching, he turned around and beckoned his friends to follow him into the hole. Straining to hold on to the last air they had, the three adventurers finally swam upward to an airy opening, where they gasped in relief and in wonder.

The place they discovered was a huge, round grotto that was formed out of smooth stone. The walls gleamed green, and gold light glinted off of them, filling the room with light. The three soaked in atmosphere, not speaking a word as they paddled up to part of the round ledge that surrounded the grotto, until…

"There it is!" Brock shouted, pointing upward and to the left. The stone ledge sloped perpendicularly to a high precipice, and the Dragon Dagger sat on a verdant pedestal. The teens raced to the rocky edifice, scrambling up gouged-in footholds and pulling one another to the top, where they stared at the prize. For a dagger, it was quite large—bigger than Misty's Tiger Daggers. The green blade was encased in silver, and a black hilt adorned with golden lines and circles ran up to the dagger's tip. In fact, the gilded light that illuminated the place was blaring from an embossed image of the Green Ranger's Power Coin in the center of the hilt. But what was most interesting was that the Dragon Dagger featured what looked like a mouthpiece on its right-hand side, accompanied by four buttons—three circular and one oblong—on its handle.

"That explains the image of the flute," Misty said, referring to Lia's book. "This is one amazing weapon."

"Yeah," Ash added. "Maybe now we can give Hayashi and the Dragonzord a wakeup call."

As Ash's fingers almost gripped the Dragon Dagger, a piercing scream shot through the grotto, forcing Ash, Misty, and Brock back. The blade glowed with white light, shooting up into the air, elongating and contorting into something. As the light faded, the weapon showed itself as a massive, living dragon. The creature screeched in the air, darting its golden eyes and baring its multitude of fangs.

The humans barely stopped themselves from screaming, reaching into their pockets and calling on the power of the ancient dinosaurs.

"Mastodon!"

"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The dragon swept low at the newly armored Power Rangers, who stood in battle positions.

"Easy," Red Ranger cautioned as the beast floated near them. The Rangers could practically count each little mark on its green-and-black mottled skin.

"We're not going to hurt you. It's okay," Yellow Ranger said, still motionless. She knew all too well what happened when dragon Pokémon were startled, and this being was on a whole other level.

The dragon screeched again, its silver fangs glinting in the room's green light. It raised its huge body up before the heroes, keeping its eyes locked on theirs. Several moments passed, each party not moving a muscle. Finally, the dragon made a guttural and slowly came toward the Rangers, extending a huge clawed hand.

"It trusts us," Black Ranger breathed, beginning to encourage the behemoth. "That's good. That's a good dragon. We're your friends.

Red Ranger nodded and extended his hand to the dragon, but the dragon suddenly whipped its head back, snarling as if it heard something. The beast then roared and then flung itself into the water, leaving the cavern despite the Rangers' pleas.

"It knows…" Brock said.

"If it trusts us, it wouldn't help Hayashi right now, would it?" Misty asked.

"Let's not wait to find out." Ash said. And with that, the Power Rangers put their hands around their Morphers, focused their energy, and in no time at all burst from the cave in points of energy.


	7. The Vanishing Act

"Almost there…that's it!"

While Brock, Misty, and Ash were on a search for the Dragon Dagger, Lia and Tracey were staking out the nearest point of the Feron Grove beachside. Using a portable device they had worked on with Alpha, they were tracking the locations of their Dinozords, including the Dragonzord.

"This is amazing!" Tracey nearly exclaimed; he had to keep his voice down, or the other beachgoers would notice. He adjusted the funnel-shaped wiring on the gadget's top and said, "They're fighting through this!"

Lia pressed a couple of buttons on the device and brought up a string of text on a small screen. Four small blips were moving slowly toward their proximity, but were still miles away according to the readout.

"Their energy signatures are moving. Everything is steady." she remarked, smiling. "But look at the depth reading. They're still trapped somewhere in the water."

Tracey nodded and kneeled in the sand, keeping his eyes on the calm ocean surface. "I just wonder what that lava has done to them. Even I don't understand how their bodies could withstand that kind of heat."

"Let's ask one question at a time here, Tracey," Lia reminded him, brushing some sand off of her white cargo pants. "Like, 'How are we gonna raise them?'"

"That's a Zordon kind of question," Tracey answered. Lia silently agreed.

The two continued on under the huge shadow of a large fishing pier that extended nearly half a mile. But before they emerged through the other side, a strange babble followed by a muffled scream pierced the silence. Tracey and Lia turned right to see a Putty Patroller hoisting a young blonde girl in its craggy arms, its hand covering her mouth.

"Colleen!" Lia yelled. "Drop her!"

The teens bolted right toward the Putty and its hostage, but both of them vanished in a gray flash before Lia or Tracey could get to them. At that moment, two Putties dropped down from the pier and rushed them. The two humans barely dodged the goons' advance when two more of them came down from above. Lia trapped one's arm between hers, kneed it in the gut, and flipped it over. Tracey intercepted another Putty that tried to attack Lia, spin kicking it in the side and grappling with another incoming foe. Lia went to join her friend, preparing to sweep the Putty, when the last enemy drilled its bladed arm toward her stomach. Tracey immediately let go of his Putty and pushed his way in between Lia and the blade, yelling and rearing back when the weapon sliced his hand. Lia stayed in the fight, however, taking the assailant down with two hard punches to the jaw.

Tracey gritted his teeth, clenching his left hand tightly as blood streamed from the wound. "Come on!" he growled at the remaining Putty—the other Putties were rolling about and ambling away. The claybrain took the challenge, starting toward Tracey and Lia, when suddenly Lia screamed, "Look out!" she pushed Tracey to the ground as the Putty with the bladelike arm came lunged forward, only to get a mouthful of sand as it faceplanted. When Lia turned to face the last one, it was too late to get ready. The Putty hurled a stony fist to the side of her nose, flooring her. The Putty garbled with glee as it left with its cohorts, eliciting screams from those on the beach.

The two teens did their best to regroup. Tracey moved over to Lia, stuffing his palm in his jeans pocket. "Lia! Are you alright?" he questioned.

Lia shook her head; she had ripped off her black hoodie and had her face pressed firmly in it. "No," she said in a hoarse voice. She removed the jacket, the fabric darkened with blood that also stained her face. "That creep got Colleen."

"Who's Colleen?" Tracey asked.

"She's a student in our junior karate class," Lia answered. She tiptoed out of the darkness to see what the Putties were up to. Now even more of them had showed up, and they were grabbing people left and disappearing instantaneously.

"What are…Wait…wasn't that Terry? He's in that other class you teach, isn't he?" Tracey remarked, trying to catch his breath. The sandy-haired boy had been the only kidnapping victim he recognized

"There's more to this…" Lia said, motioning Tracey to retreat into the darkness. "Let's stop them."

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Power Rangers!" the Pink and Blue Rangers cried as they took to the open beach. By this time, the remaining Putties were menacing the civilians in lieu of capturing them, but not for long as they were cut down in a hail of blue and pink Blade Blaster rays.

"Hurry! Get to safety!" Blue Ranger shouted. The horrified beachgoers didn't have to be told twice as they fled the battle scene. Several more Putty Patrollers were creeping up the fishing pier, grappling with some anglers who had tried to escape. But the Power Rangers quickly somersaulted up to the platform, Blue Ranger clearing two henchmen away with spin backfists and Pink Ranger taking out the others with a step-up kick to the head that sent one Putty into its brethren like dominoes.

"Man, these guys don't know when to quit!"Pink Ranger said as the Putties rolled off of the bridge and into the waves below.

"They just came out of nowhere!" one of the fishermen exclaimed. "Where are they taking those people?"

"I don't know, but I promise we'll find them," Tracey assured, urging him and his friends away. "Get under cover for now! It's not safe!"

As Tracey spoke those words, a timbering screech rang out to confirm what he said. The Rangers turned to the right to look at the far edge of the ocean, where the shipyard and docks were. Several hundred yards in front of the locale, a familiar razor-sharp fin rose up from the water.

Even with all of the chaos going on in Feron Grove, there were some who found the good in the moment—Rita Repulsa and her monsters.

"You're allowing him to go through with this?" Goldar questioned, standing atop the Moon Palace's balcony with the evil sorceress.

Rita paid no mind to the warrior's insolence. She peered into her Repulsascope, a poisonous smile upturning her lips. "It's not much of a gamble. The Green Ranger will do _exactly _as I command. I doubt he will risk the consequences of not doing so. But he provides an interesting challenge."

"Being, my queen?"

"Simple," she replied, looking on as Dragonzord emerged from the sea. A cloud of green fire formed near the great mech's neck, and the Green Ranger materialized—Sword of Darkness in hand.

"You've seen it. For months on end, we've been testing not only the Power Rangers' ability in war, but their strength of spirit. We've pushed them to the brink so many times, and Hayashi will provide the breaking point, even if Zordon does return. Real loss of human life tends to do that."

"He had better get the job done," Goldar growled, drumming the hilt of his sword. Squatt and Baboo nodded their heads, staying in the background.

"He will," Rita said. A second later, she gasped, having caught sight of something strange. It looked like a huge serpentine figure was going to meet the Dragon Dinozord. It was large, with green-and-black mottled skin…"

"No…" Rita said. "It can't be. That dragon looks like it came from…"

Squatt grunted in confusion and turned to Baboo, who was clutching his potion kit and stepping away from the scene. All of a sudden, Rita was in the creature's face, thrusting him into the wall.

"It looks like you found the Dragon Dagger after all," Rita snarled, gripping Baboo's throat and raising her glowing wand. She slammed the point of the staff into his potion bag, sending it crashing to the floor, vile liquids spilling everywhere. "You know, for a mad scientist, you're potions are sure ineffective. All I wanted was a simple sedative solution, you twit!"

Baboo tried to choke out an apology, but the witch would have none of it, gripping his face with her sharp nails and shoving him to Squatt's feet.

"He can't get hold of that dagger… He can't know..." Rita grumbled, stepping back up to the balcony. "Hayashi! Destroy that dragon!"


	8. Red and Green War Machines

"Everyone get out of here!"

Workers and machinists abandoned every machine and every task at hand as the Dragonzord began to tower over the Feron Grove docks. The sixth Dinozord screeched and waved its arms, drilling its spinning tail through the sides of warehouses and knocking over forklifts while the people fled.

Green Ranger stood atop his robot's neck, pointing his crooked sword toward the city and laughing.

"You know what to do!" he bellowed, thrusting his blade forward and releasing a torrent of lightning from the tip, setting more edifices ablaze.

Dragon Dinozord roared in response, its possessed purple eyes glowing as it stomped above the waves and onto the surface. It waved its five-fingered hands and readied a barrage of missiles, pointing them straight at the great beast that floated above it.

"Green Ranger, stop!" Red Ranger, who was with his teammates just outside the dock's entrance, shouted. But the evil Ranger and his companion didn't heed his word, the Dragonzord firing away at the living dragon. The bestial version of the Dragon Dagger bared its fangs and whipped its long tail forth, knocking away the blasts into the ocean. It then swept around the Dragonzord and coiled itself around its bulky body, sinking its teeth into its shoulder. The Zord screamed, trying to shake the creature off of its form, but its bonds only grew tighter. The Evil Green Ranger took hold of the Dragonzord, steadying himself, and then he leapt down to the other dragon's body, plunging his Sword of Darkness into its flesh.

"He's gonna destroy the Dagger if we don't get in there!" Yellow Ranger yelled, trying to aim her Blade Blaster at the Evil Green Ranger, but he either struck the bolts away with his blade or absorbed them with his Dragon Shield. "We need to pry the dragon off of that Dinozord!"

"Then it's T-Rex time, then," Red Ranger surmised, trying to hold his ground as the Dragonzord, with the beast and Green Ranger in tow, barreled further away from the scene and closer to the city.

"How can that work?" Pink Ranger asked. "Our Dinozords wouldn't fight one of their own last time."

"I have to try," Ash said, clenching a fist and raising his other hand to the sky. "Tyrannosaurus Dinozord Power now!"

The struggle continued as the group moved through the edge of the downtown area. The reanimated Dragon Dagger kept squeezing tighter as Dragonzord rattled around and Green Ranger stabbed at it. Terrified citizens retreated indoors to avoid being trampled, and those inside watched in amazement.

"This is unreal. My son was right," one man said as he and his office colleagues watched from the tenth floor of one of Feron Grove's tallest buildings.

"What are you talking about?" a woman inquired, stepping toward the huge window to get a better look, but she doubled back as the combatants swung in their direction, nearly crashing into the high-rise.

"He was down where the Blue and Black Power Rangers showed up yesterday when the old warehouses blew up," the man replied, shuddering as both dragons cried out. "They mentioned something about an evil Green Ranger. I didn't believe him. I thought there was just another monster running around and causing trouble."

"Who would want to?" someone else asked. "That thing apparently destroyed the Rangers' Zords…"

Again, the Dragonzord shifted around to break its bonds, finally slinging the living dragon into the ground, cracking the pavement and crashing into several cars. The people in the buildings screamed as the dragon plummeted to the ground. But just as Dragonzord prepared to attack, a loud rumbling followed by a reptilian roar from above stopped the screams of the people in the buildings. The citizens watched in shock as a huge red-and-silver colored figure dropped down from on high, dropkicking Dragon Dinozord away from the establishments. Tyrannosaurus Dinozord rose up and positioned itself in front of the dragon, facing its mechanical brother.

"I guess he didn't get all of the Zords," the man in the high-rise said.

The Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzord were at a standstill, fangs displayed, blue eyes glaring into purple eyes, and legs primed to initiate a blow. Several moments passed as the two Zords stood against each other. Evil Green Ranger relaxed his stance and breathed deeply, turning the Sword of Darkness in his hands.

While this was going on, the Yellow, Blue, Black, and Pink Rangers had caught up with everyone, maneuvering slowly toward the fallen dragon.

"Ghera Serum…" Tracey said, keeping his voice low. "That explains it."

"Come again?" Lia asked. She tried to reach toward the dragon, but the animal snapped to attention and flew back up to the sky. "Oh man…"

"I'm scanning the dragon to see just what Baboo might have done to it," Tracey explained. "Since he's a scientist, he obviously has access to a lot of potions. Remember what he did to awaken Scorpina."

"Right," Misty added. "Let's see… Scan for Ghera Serum." Her verbal command brought up a message on her HUD, giving light to the substance. "It says it's an extraterrestrial poison that exponentially accelerates the body's functions to extreme levels."

"So basically, it pushes you further and further until you drop?" Brock remarked.

"Permanently," Misty said somberly.

Lia's eyes widened behind her pink and white helmet. "Then if this dragon dies, it's bye-bye Dragon Dagger. There has to be a way to change it back!"

_"How did it even transform in the first place?" _she then thought to herself.

Meanwhile, the lengthy beast charged at Dragon Dinozord, but the mech caught it by a fanned crest on its head and tossed it to the ground again, repeating this action and leveling it with a tail whip when the being came at it twice more.

"Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Ash demanded from his cockpit. His Dinozord still refused to advance.

"This little pest has no use for me, Red Ranger," Evil Green Ranger stated, calm as ever. "Just another version of a cheap sword that won't serve me or my empress well."

"Come on…Come on!" Red Ranger shouted, trying to jam his controls forward. "I know he's your brother, but he's destroying everything!" He then focused back on Hayashi and said, "You know you're just a tool! Rita will just kill you when she's done with you!"

Hayashi grew silent, continuing to turn the Sword of Darkness in his hands. He raised it up and took a look at the red sphere lodged in the middle. "She wouldn't dare," he said confidently. "Now, come on and fight!"

Dragonzord let out a guttural noise, and the crest on its head began to shine. The Zord swung its head and threw a thin blast of energy at Ash's Zord, knocking it to the ground. It immediately followed up with another slew of missiles, some striking the rolling Tyrannosaurus and others blowing up chunks of streets and portions of buildings. The tyrant lizard than sprang up at Dragonzord, headbutting it straight in the center of its chest. The Dragon Dinozord stutter-stepped a bit, but regained its footing just as the Red Ranger's robot began to slash at it with its claws. Dragonzord took a couple of blows, but then it blocked a tail swipe and slashed at Tyrannosaurus with its own back appendage. However, the tail was soon in the grip of the Tyrannosaurus' claws.

"Looks like he's goin' for a ride!" Black Ranger shouted from a nearby rooftop. The other Power Rangers had taken to the roof to try to corral the dragon with shots from the Blade Blasters, Mammoth Axe, and Ptera Bow, but it just growled at them and circled furiously around the two gargantuan combatants.

"No such luck," Hayashi, who had been hanging onto his Zord with strained muscles, said. Hearing those words, Dragonzord began to spin the tip of its tail, gouging into the top of the Tyrannosaurus' silver chest. Dragonzord then sped up and tossed its adversary further into the city's nearly barren streets, its huge red tail plunging through the glass doors of a bank and nearly impaling several patrons.

"No!" Blue Ranger breathed, peering from the edge of the rooftop.

"Come on, Ash!" Pink Ranger urged. "Get up!"

The Dragon Dinozord lumbered toward the prone Tyrannosaurus Dinozord. Evil Green Ranger grinned behind his helmet, zapping the transfigured Dragon Dagger with bolts from his Sword. Even as the dragon slunk down, it screeched and tried once more to intercept its robotic kin, only to fail.

"Looks like this is the end for you, my pupil, and your pitiful planet will soon follow," Green Ranger promised.

Dragonzord snarled and opened its maw wide, an acidic blast of air ready to escape and engulf the Red Ranger and his Dinozord, but Ash would have none of it.

"If this is it, then I'm taking you with me, Sensei!" Red Ranger bellowed. He formed his red Dino Crystal and jammed it into the control deck. "And I'm doing it with an old favorite! Fire Spin!"

The rest of the Power Rangers had finally reached the scene of the mechanical war, and both Dinozords' mouths were glowing with acid and flames, ready to destroy each other.

"They're gonna vaporize the entire city center!" Yellow Ranger cried. "No!"

"Get out of the way!" Black Ranger pleaded.

But their protests were futile. The Dragonzord fired a white-and-green colored blast while the Tyrannosaurus exhaled a spinning inferno. It looked to be all over.


	9. Welcome and Unwelcome

Back at Rita's Moon Palace, the empress watched with bated breath as the battle between the Zords reached the point of no return. This would finally bring an end to the Power Rangers.

"Look, Goldar," she said to her apish warrior, beckoning him to the Repulsascope. "The Evil Green Ranger is preparing to finish poor Ashy boy off!"

The gilded, bulky beast went to peer into the telescope, Scorpina following suit, and noticed Dragon and Tyrannosaurus Dinozords readying their final attacks. "This doesn't look good, my queen," he said. "Those blasts look like they'll take the Green Ranger and the Dragonzord out as well."

Rita sneered at her charge. "Then he will have destroyed the Power Rangers, the Dragon Dagger, and a huge part of Feron Grove in the process. Everything will still be ready for us."

Goldar looked over at Rita with an incredulous look. Scorpina then nudge him aside and peered through the telescope, gasping in shock.

"Goldar…Rita…you won't believe this…"

"What?!" Rita snapped, shoving both of her minions to the side and assuming the Repulsascope. Her mouth hung open when she saw what was going on.

"There's no way…" she uttered. "He couldn't have!"

"Redistribute hyperflow… Search Echo Quadrant beginning with Sector 45Q9…"

At the Command Center, Alpha 5 was working at breakneck speed to relocate and reconnect with Zordon. Things were moving much faster since the system was back to full capacity, but judging from what was happening on the Viewing Globe, he needed the computer to move even faster.

"It'll be okay, Rangers," Alpha squeaked, keeping his frantic circuits in check despite seeing Ash and the Tyrannosaurus hurled into the city with the rest of the team in hot pursuit. "Help is on the way. I hope."

Alpha pushed one button after the other on the computer console nearest him. And just as he finished another combination, a bright flash of white light burst through the hidden fortress of good, startling Alpha a little. As the light faded, twin bolts of electricity shot from the two golden columns surrounding Zordon's energy tube, and the face of the Power Rangers' sage finally reappeared.

"Zordon, it's you! You're finally back!" Alpha happily exclaimed.

"Yes. Well done, Alpha 5," Zordon announced. "You have reestablished our computer and interdimensional linkup."

"Thank goodness," the robotic friend said, letting his limbs relax.

"But there is no time to rest," the good wizard interrupted. "We must stop this certain destruction."

He took a look at the scene on the Viewing Globe; just then, the two Zords were preparing to launch devastating final blasts, and the bestial incarnation of the Dragon Dagger, which was barely able to keep afloat, was preparing to intercept the two. Zordon closed his eyes and began to focus his energy from the surrounding columns, which mingled together and shot through the huge opening in the Command Center's roof.

As had been the case that day, mere seconds moved like hours for the Power Rangers as they tried to halt the impending devastation, but they could do nothing but watch as Dragonzord released its acidic blast and the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord expelled its Fire Spin. Both blasts collided into each other, but not before the living, breathing dragon thrust itself into danger one final time. As the three entities met, a fourth broke through the late afternoon sky. A tunnel of crackling white energy encapsulated the city center, forcing everyone watching in the surrounding area to duck or shield their eyes. The light soon dimmed, and everyone was staring in wonder. The Tyrannosaurus Dinozord was snarling, trying to hold back remnants of the acidic blast that was causing it to spark. At the same time, a smaller circle of flames corralled the Dragonzord, rendering it and the Green Ranger immobile.

While this was going on, the green-and-black dragon in the sky was writhing , letting out a pained roar. Soon, the being began to stretch out and relax, glowing with golden light.

"What's happening?" Tracey asked.

"Look! It's transforming!" Lia called out.

The dragon was indeed going through a change. It contorted itself vertically and began to shrink down, and within seconds, the dragon had returned to its inanimate form as the Dragon Dagger, floating high in the air.

"The dagger…it's back!" Brock shouted.

"Yeah, but that energy…do you feel it?" Misty posed, holding up her hands as she took in the golden aura with her friends.

"It's Zordon. He's back!" Lia yelled, a smile brightening her bloodstained face. She felt like jumping for joy. Two Power Rangers actually did jump—Ash right out of his cockpit and Hayashi off of the Dragonzord.

"I've got it!" Red Ranger cried in midair, extending his hand toward the Dragon Dagger. Unfortunately, Green Ranger had the distance advantage, and he clasped the dagger with his right hand, chuckling and slashing the other Power Ranger with both weapons.

"Nice try, Red," Hayashi taunted, landing on his feet as Ash fell back-first onto the pavement; the others came to pull him to safety. He gazed at the Dragon Dagger in his hand, and both the sword and his hand were shining with white light.

"Hmm…" he said. "Might as well get some use out of this thing." He then crossed the tips of both blades and launched a green-and-black ray of energy straight at the Tyrannosarus' head, breaking its defenses and making it collapse in the empty streets. The acidic breath from the Dragonzord was now taking its toll, eating away holes in the Zord. The Evil Green Ranger then let out a battle cry and shoved the Sword of Darkness into the ground, splitting it open to create a chasm. Within seconds, steam rose from the rumbling opening and began to draw the bellowing Tyrannosaurus Dinozord inside.

"T-Rex! No! Fight!" Ash screamed, clutching his chest where the swords cut at him. He tried to run toward the chasm to get to his prehistoric companion, but the other Rangers held him back.

"No Ash! It'll just take you as well!" Pink Ranger warned him, but the Red Ranger still struggled against his friends.

"FIGHT!" he screamed again. Regardless of his urging, the Dinozord found its leg caught in the chasm and was beginning to sink in. Suddenly, a white sheen came around the Tyrannosaurus, making it grow silent and motionless. The humongous robot was then swallowed up in a flash of red light, and the light then sank into the closing gap, wisps of flames the only things left in its wake.

The Evil Green Ranger laughed at his feat, doing so even harder as he saw the Power Rangers standing before him, frozen with agony and ripe for destruction.

"Don't cry over your pet lizard, Rangers," he quipped. He rose both the Sword of Darkness and the Dragon Dagger and pointed them directly at his targets. "You'll burn with him very soon."

As Hayashi prepared to strike, the white energy that surrounded the Dragon Dagger and his right hand shot over his entire body, stopping him in his tracks. He felt a tingling, tightening sensation overtake him. The light then dissipated as the Green Ranger began talking.

"Shut up!" he ordered, still pointing his blades at the Rangers. "Shut up! I don't need to hear from you, weakling!"

His arm quivering, Green Ranger lifted the flute end of the Dragon Dagger to his lips, saying, "Return to the sea." He then struck the circular keys on the blades handle, playing six tones three times. The Dragonzord's eyes began to flicker, changing from deep purple to bright red, and the mech turned right around and began going back the way it came.

Green Ranger looked at the Dragon Dagger, then at the Sword of Darkness, and then at the Power Rangers. He tightened his grip on his blades, going to move to fight, but he stopped himself and shook his head. With a flourish, he vanished from sight in his plume of fire.

"What just happened?" Yellow Ranger asked. "Why didn't he attack us?"

"I don't know, but I thought he wanted to destroy the Dragon Dagger, and even that doesn't make any sense." Blue Ranger added.

Suddenly, Red Ranger's Wrist Communicator beeped, and, blinking back moisture, Ash assumed the call.

"I read you," he answered blankly.

"Power Rangers. I am glad to see that you are all safe," Zordon said.

"Zordon, it is you…" Ash breathed. The other Rangers nodded and clapped each other's shoulders in restrained celebration. "Yeah, we're all here, but Hayashi has the Dragon Dagger, and Tyrannosaurus was just dragged down to…"

"I am aware, Ashton," Zordon interjected. At that moment, fire truck and ambulance wails began to ring out in the distance. "But your Dinozords, although badly damaged, have not been destroyed. However, there is another grave danger that we must confront. Report to the Command Center immediately."


	10. A Tale of Two Swords

Five points of colorful light touched down in the Command Center, and as the Power Rangers materialized and removed their helmets, they saw that everything was as it should be. The ceiling alternated from the starry sky to swaths of soft rainbow hues, ringlets of light flashed around metal columns, and the computers occasionally beeped with nominal sounds. But best of all, Alpha 5 and Zordon were right there waiting for them.

"It is wonderful to see you again, Power Rangers," their sage said.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you," Brock said, his friends speaking in agreement.

The moment of reprieve was cut short, however, as a serious expression crossed Zordon's huge face. "Unfortunately, there is not much more to celebrate. The Green Ranger is preparing another dastardly plan."

"Zordon, there were Putties everywhere at the beach," Tracey reported, him and Lia sharing concerned looks. "They were kidnapping people left and right."

"It is all a part of Hayashi's plan to prove himself to Rita." Zordon explained. "Your efforts have hindered the quick destruction she intended with her own Ranger, and it is obvious she has had enough of the delays."

"Doesn't make it any less devastating," Misty sighed, shifting her helmet under her arm. "And now Hayashi has the Dragon Dagger. There's no telling what he can do with Dragonzord."

Lia looked down at her scuffed boots, trying to draw in air through her throbbing nose; thankfully, the Putty didn't hit her hard enough to break it. "I don't know, Misty," she said, turning to the side. "Something happened to him when he grabbed it. He probably could've finished us off, but he didn't."

"Yes," Zordon interjected, nodding his head. "Hayashi gaining the Dragon Dagger is actually to our advantage."

"This whole situation is just insane…" Ash droned, lightly stepping forward as his chest burned. "How is him having the dagger to our advantage? That thing turned into a real dragon when we tried to grab it ourselves and kept attacking Dragonzord. We couldn't get it!"

"It does seem strange, especially since the weapon hasn't been in our possession for thousands of years. We have no idea how it transformed into a real creature." Alpha 5 chimed in. "Nonetheless, the Dragon Dagger is the true sixth Power Weapon."

"One of the other instruments of good and justice," Zordon added. "Though powerful, the Sword of Darkness was created by Rita in order to bind its user to her evil spells. I interceded to make sure the living dragon would revert back to its true form when it was struck by the energy from your Dinozords' attacks."

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain everything," Ash replied, setting his helmet down hard on a console in frustration.

"Remember what he said about the weapons," Brock interjected, grabbing Ash's shoulder. "We can only use them when we're aligned with a true purpose."

"That's why the Tyrannosaurus wasn't destroyed." Misty assured. "The dagger's power must have been weakened."

The Power Rangers looked toward Zordon, who only nodded again.

"Then that's it," Tracey said, things suddenly clicking. "The good energy from the Dragon Dagger is probably working to counteract Rita's spell. That's why when it overtook him, he called off Dragon Dinozord."

"Precisely," the good wizard spoke. "By destroying the Sword of Darkness, her permanent hold on Hayashi will be broken, but he will still be under its influence. No matter what we say or do, only Hayashi can finally break it."

Lia looked to the side once more. She knew her brother could win. He had to.


	11. The Mouth of Torture

Storm clouds covered the evening sky, releasing a downpour all over the Amalei Region. The heaviest rains were falling in Riko, the small farming community close to Feron Grove. Tucked away in one of the several rolling hills that made up much of the town's landscape was a cave known as Life's End. Reportedly on the site of a former graveyard, only the truly adventurous ever stepped foot in there. It was said that many who entered Life's End never found their way back, and those that did never went in again, saying they felt a horrible presence within its depths.

Hayashi stood at the mouth of the cavern, putting his palm outside to catch a few big raindrops. Lightning flashed in the distance, creating the only light around besides the rising moon. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his smartphone, turning it on. The date read October 30th, and the young man smiled as he clicked on his radio app, and that's when the news update came on.

"This is Hayley Simms with Channel 15 News First Radio. Confusion and chaos have been running rampant the past few days as Rita Repulsa's vile monsters have been appearing in several places in the Amalei Region, causing thousands of dollars in property damage and injuring scores of island citizens and animals. And while the Power Rangers, our region's mysterious first responders, have been combating this threat, it seems that one of their own is behind these crimes. We go to Bruce Hernandez for more. Bruce?"

"Thanks, Hayley. I'm just outside Feron Grove First International Bank, where staff and witnesses say the Red Power Ranger's Dinozord was tossed through the front doors, its tail nearly skewering those in its path. Thankfully, no fatalities are reported. However, it has been confirmed that there is a sixth Ranger-a Green Power Ranger—and his vehicle is the one that threw the T-Rex into the bank. Witnesses also claim to have seen a quote "gigantic dragon" in the vicinity of the battle, and it did not look like any known dragon-type Pokémon. This Green Ranger…

"Sorry to interrupt you, Bruce, but this just in…an update on today's missing person case. Authorities are saying approximately fifty people have been reported missing since this afternoon when parties from all over the city said they saw Putty Patrollers—Rita's foot soldiers—snatching them and disappearing. Two fishermen reported that the Pink and Blue Power Rangers attempted to drive them away, but to no avail. Police and rescue officials have been combing the surrounding areas, but they have not been able to find one citizen. Very distressing indeed, Bruce."

"Just terrible, Hayley…"

Hayashi cut off the feed and went inside the cave just as another huge thunderclap burst through the air. He then drew his Power Morpher and popped it open. Verdant flames blew over his body, cloaking him in his Ranger suit and helmet. As he walked down a downward slope, Life's End grew darker and darker. Hayashi then reached his right hand out, assuming the Sword of Darkness. He then pulled the Dragon Dagger out of a black holster on the side of his white belt, gripping both of them tightly. He chuckled as he navigated through the blackness, waving the blades in midair. Midnight would signal the beginning of Halloween, and that's when the celebration would begin.

_Celebrating…wait what? _

The Evil Green Ranger shook his head as he ducked a couple of stalactites and wedged himself into another recess of the cavern. There was that voice again. It sounded just like him, and it was the one that urged him to call off the Dragonzord earlier that day. Why did he doubt himself now? Everything was going according to plan.

_There are people suffering. What's going on? What are you doing?_

"Stop!" Green Ranger hissed, swinging his Sword of Darkness and cutting through a portion of the stone wall, leaving pebbles and silt in its midst. At that moment, that tingling feeling shot through his right arm and up his body. Everything seemed fuzzy as he stopped in his tracks. Hayashi eyed the Dragon Dagger and gritted his teeth. Maybe Empress Rita was right for him to destroy it. Ever since he got the weapon, the voice in his head kept coming back.

He growled and tossed the dagger to the ground, going to spear it right through its dragon footprint insignia. As the point drove home, he stopped just as the tip touched the golden circle.

_You need it. You need it._

The Evil Green Ranger retracted the Sword of Darkness and retrieved his dagger. That stupid inner monologue had a point. The Dragon Dagger would make a great sidearm. Look what it did to the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord. As much as he loved his empress and would do what she said, it only made sense to keep it for now.

_She doesn't love you._

"Why not use all of the tools in the toolbox?" Hayashi asked himself, ignoring that last thought and going along on his way. Another crash of thunder rang throughout the depths of the cave as he climbed up a couple of stones to another level. Soon, he reached a fork in the road, and he took the left passage. The darkness started to ebb away as flickering lights began to peek through the new path and the clinking of metal and loud wails began to cut through the air.

After rounding another corner, Hayashi found five separate tunnels illuminated by flaming torches. He chose the second from the left and went down into a small, rocky chamber. The room glowed with torch fire, and it was filled to the brim with the sounds of struggling prisoners and their cries.

"Help! Somebody please help!" little Colleen screamed, pulling at the chains that bounded her arms to the cavern walls. Hayashi walked past her, striking the girl's face with the back of his hand.

"Be quiet," he ordered, pushing back a chained-up older man who tried to kick at him. "You don't want to wear out everyone's ears. Besides, Halloween's coming up, so you'll want to save up your screams."

"What are you doing?" Darren asked, straining to talk. The Putties that had captured him outside of the Union had bound him to the wall with a neck iron, and his voice was made even quieter by the screams coming from the other rooms. "You're a Power Ranger! You're one of the good guys!"

"Wrong," Evil Green Ranger said, pulling Darren by his Afro. "I am the Evil Green Ranger, and Rita is my queen." He then let him go and kicked him in the ribs.

"That's not true…" Colleen quietly sniffled, trying in vain to wipe her teary eyes. "If you're a Power Ranger, you've gotta be good. You've gotta be good! You've got to HELP!"

"SILENCE!" Goldar snarled from one of the other dungeons.

"Honey, please," Colleen's mother urged, trying to reach her daughter. She wanted to comfort her, but it was impossible thanks to her arm and leg irons.

Hayashi darted toward the girl's mother, placing the Sword of Darkness' edge below her chin. "Yes, please. You want to see what happens when you don't shut up?"

_You don't want to do that!_

His inner self again… Hayashi slowly took the blade away, the woman's ragged breathing becoming less frantic. He approached a rectangular slab in the middle of the room. Each chamber had one, and each one was mottled and stained with age-old dirt, dents, and spots that appeared to be dried blood.

"No," he said. "Empress Rita would not like that. Not just yet."


	12. The Eyes Have It

"This had better work, Hayashi."

"Trust me, my empress. The Power Rangers would do anything to save the people of their dear city."

Rita Repulsa marched down the dank corridors of the Moon Palace, drumming her fingers on the iron walls. The Evil Green Ranger had a gutsy plan, she conceded. But it seemed like a huge risk, and she was through taking chances. No amount of promise could ensure her victory now.

"Finster!" she screeched as she reached the goat-like artisan's workshop. "I will be conferring with our high counselor. I am not to be disturbed."

"Yes, my queen," Finster replied, bowing and keeping his eyes low to his monster sculptures.

The sorceress continued on, walking through the cold hallways and eventually reaching the room she sought. She opened the metal door and walked inside her personal workspace. The walls were filled to the brim with bags of powders and bottles of ghastly substances. A large object shaped like a well that was filled with liquid sat in the middle of the dim room. Rita pulled up a chair and sat it next to the well, going to retrieve a few pouches of powder too. She then reached over a wooden table and ran her spindly fingers over a small gyroscope. As she turned to her work, a bright blue light shot from the gyroscope and materialized into a tall, hulking shape that was obscured in the low candlelight.

"At your service, my queen," the figure announced in a growly voice, bowing to Rita. "How may I be of assistance?"

"You know perfectly well what's going on, counselor," Rita said, measuring several types of multicolored powder and putting them into a beaker. "My Green Ranger is marching to the beat of his own drum, and while his creative liberties have certainly been entertaining, we are now no closer to taking back Feron Grove and Earth than we have been before."

The counselor blinked a huge eye, then another, then another, and then one more. He crossed his huge arms and answered, "Yes. With Zordon back, his warriors can certainly pose a problem."

Rita struck the surface of the well with her bony fist. "And so can one of mine! I told him to destroy that Dragon Dagger and what does he do?" She groaned as she continued mixing the potion. "And even my dragon spell backfired… This is giving me such a headache…"

"But it seems like you have everything in hand, Queen Rita," the counselor spoke, coming over to see the witch adding a bottle of thick black liquid to the beaker. "Once that solution rains on the Dragonzord, it'll still be under your control no matter what happens, right?"

"It has to work," Rita grumbled, pouring the solution into the well. The liquid churned and frothed, separating just a little bit to show the outside of the Life's End cavern; at that moment, five illuminated streaks touched down outside the cave's entrance, revealing the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Rita snarled again and then turned to look at the shadowy figure with a threatening stare. "And if it doesn't, what do you suggest we do?"

The counselor tapped his foot a few times, growling a little in thought. He then chuckled throatily and said, "Green Ranger's current course of action has merit, as does his purpose. Having the very people those children love and protect be the source of their demise could be the key to our victory."

As the Power Rangers stepped out of the thunderstorm and into the mouth of Life's End, chills immediately crept up their spines, their arms, their legs, every part of their bodies. Though adrenaline pulsed through their veins while they sped through the initial part of the cave, it seemed that the sensations of the hot cavern air and the wetness from falling moisture droplets tripled.

"The HUD says the captives are still a mile away," Red Ranger reported, helping his friends squeeze through a narrow passage. "But their energy readings are split up."

"From what I've read, this place has plenty of secluded chambers," Pink Ranger contributed as the group slowed down to get their bearings. "They're likely sectioned off."

Black Ranger's scan finally finished calibrating to trace enemy readings, and he said, "And those people not alone. From what I see, Rita has sent plenty of guards."

Yellow Ranger tightened her fists and moved to the front of the group, checking out their next detour—a steep vertical drop several feet downward that led to the next path.

"Be careful, guys," she warned as she reached around the stony ground, eventually finding some footholds to begin the descent. Climbing down to the lower level, Misty noticed strange, ragged red and black markings on the wall she was facing—lots of thick lines and faded images of what appeared to be eyes.

"What are all these markings supposed to mean?" Misty asked, finally reaching the bottom. She turned to look around at the darkened walls, and her night vision scan revealed even more images. "They're everywhere."

"Must be some kind of tribal symbol." Blue Ranger, the next one to make it down, remarked. He took hold of his helmeted chin and studied the marks. "Lia?"

Lia kept climbing down the edifice, sliding down the rest, and was soon joined by Brock and Ash. "No way," she whispered. Ash motioned them to keep going down the next tunnel, but Lia continued. "I've heard some things about these symbols, but I haven't found much about them when I researched them."

"What do you remember?" Brock questioned as they navigated through another couple of tight crevices. "Whoa!" Black Ranger and his companions ducked as a huge Golbat soared over their heads, screeching all the way. "I take it the markings don't signify this being a Golbat nest."

"Nope," Lia continued. "From what I've gathered, the eye mark belongs to an ancient tribe of shadow warriors that once practiced in Riko. Other people I've talked to said the symbols marked the sites of ritual sacrifice. All I know is that nobody knows for sure."

"Well, this place is supposedly built on a burial ground, so it's likely the latter," Tracey said, shuddering.

"Then that must be Hayashi's plan…" Ash realized, nervous sweat running down the side of his face. "Come on!"

"10:00. Two hours to go! Hahahahaha!"

Goldar rubbed his gilded paws together with glee as he circled around the prison chamber he was guarding. People chained to the walls only half-heartedly pulled at their bondage, nearly frozen with fear.

"Strength. Knowledge. Indomitable Spirit. Strength. Knowledge. Indomitable Spirit."

Goldar whipped his head around, signaling two nearby Putties to go check on Scorpina's dungeon. He growled and moved toward the source of the chant he just heard. Terry was flexing his arms, quietly repeating his karate class mantra over and over.

"Oh, come now, boy," the ape-griffin hybrid said, pulling Terry by his shirt. "Those little magic words won't save you or anybody else!"

Terry kept his eyes shut, now loudly voicing the virtues he had been learning with his fellow students—two of which were chained to the opposite side of the circular room.

"Look at me!" Goldar snarled, forcing the boy's eyes open. "Save your breath because at midnight you won't have any left!" He then raked his claws through Terry's shirt and to his chest, opening up surface-level cuts and making him shout.

In the adjacent chamber, the Evil Green Ranger sat atop the center stone slab, meditating and holding the Sword of Darkness high in the air; his other hand was wrapped around his Power Morpher. Darren looked on at the Ranger, closing his eyes in disappointment. How could the Power Rangers let one of their own be controlled like this? They had always prevailed against Rita, so how did she gain so much leverage? He then opened his eyes and looked over at Colleen and her mother. The adult looked at the daughter in wonder as the child then closed her eyes and began to breathe steadily. She began to say the words, "Strength. Knowledge. Indomitable Spirit," over and over.

The Feron Grove Union's manager began to smile. His patrons—his friends—were some of the strongest and most driven people he had ever met, no matter what age. And that was certainly helpful in the dank din of Life's End.

While Putties guarded more hostages in two other rooms, Scorpina paced about, dragging the top tip of her three-point sword over the skin of her prisoners, teasing a gash here or a slice there. Her fiendish smile glinted much like her spiny armor in the firelight. She then took the tip of her blade and flicked a pair of glasses off of an elderly man's face, flinging them in the air. With one swift stroke, she shattered the spectacles and giggled at the gentleman's fright.

"You won't be needing those," she spoke, still keeping her grin. Over in the corner near the room's entrance, Mike and Wendy—two of Brock's friends and classmates restrained by neck chains—gripped each other's hands snugly, trying to think of a way out.

"How cute!" Scorpina cooed, putting her face directly in Wendy's. She traced a sharp fingernail across her face, stopping at her lips, which were colored black as she was captured when figuring out her makeup for her punk rock costume for the Full Moon Monster Mash. "Better kiss him goodbye," she continued, lifting up Mike's shirt with her sword and poking at his round belly. "The fattest cow always gets slaughtered first."

Hearing that insult, Mike immediately spat at Scorpina's feet, and the demoness retaliated by slamming him across the face with the flat end of the sword.

"You heartless…" Wendy began to scream, pulling at her chains to try to fight Scorpina. The lady warrior stopped the young woman's speech, grabbing her by her pale cheeks. "You wanna hit someone? Hit me," she managed to choke out.

"I only fight those who actually can," Scorpina said, gritting her teeth. "But I have no problem accelerating your execution. Green Ranger! Can we start Halloween early?"

Hayashi rose from his meditation, unable to think straight with Colleen's voice adding to his own mind's noise. "No, Scorpina," he responded loudly. "The Empress will have her tributes by midnight." He then started toward Collen and her mother, who was speaking softly to her little girl. He struggled to raise the Sword of Darkness to brush both females' blonde locks to the side, prepping its edge at their throats. "But I grow weary of all this talking, and I don't mind crushing some vocal cords!"

Just as the Evil Green Ranger went to smash the sword into his victims, a series of blasts struck him in the top of his back, rocking through his Golden Dragon Shield and sending him to the ground. The prisoners' astonished looks turned into smiles as the five Power Rangers stood at the chamber's entrance, Blade Blasters at the ready.

"This ends here, Green Ranger," Red Ranger said, taking a step forward. "You're days of working for Rita are over! Blast the sword!"

At Ash's command, a rainbow of light emitted from the laser guns, striking Hayashi's raised Sword of Darkness. However, he simply chuckled as the blade glowed with light, and he flung the combined energy of the sword and the lasers back at the Rangers, who ducked just in time. The ray barreled through the cave and struck a faraway wall, blasting it to bits.

"Very competent, Power Rangers," Green Ranger acknowledged in a throaty voice, slashing at Colleen's bonds and breaking the chains. He picked up the young karate student by the shoulders and set her back-first on the stone slab to the horrified screams of her mother and all of the men, women, and children still chained to the walls. "But you need to know that _I_ am the most powerful weapon."

Before the Power Rangers could move a muscle, the Evil Green Ranger put a hand on Collen's throat, holding her down as he dangled the Sword of Darkness high. "The sacrifices were supposed to start at midnight, but if you make one more move, I'll destroy every life in here right now. I don't care what Rita says."

A short silence followed Hayashi's words. All of the captives sat back, heeding the threat Hayashi levied at the Rangers. They didn't want that child to die because of them. All the while, Colleen, tears streaming down to the stained slab, tried to keep calm and breathe regularly.

"If you don't care about Rita, then let us destroy the sword," Pink Ranger urged. "You can break the spell. We know you can. Just let us help you."

"What a broken record!" Goldar shouted from the other room. "You're in a no-win situation, and you know it!"

"Shut up, Goldar!" Green Ranger roared, still poising his blade to pierce Colleen's sternum. He looked down at the girl, then at his sister, staring her directly in the eyes. He then nodded and kept talking.

"Actually, you can help, Pink Ranger," he said, pointing his weapon at her. "I will spare these people's lives if you give me yours in return. All five of you."


	13. Liberation

One could hear a pin drop after the Evil Green Ranger aired his demand. The five good Power Rangers remained locked in battle-ready stances, starting directly ahead at their possessed brethren, his captives, and the sword he dangled over the small child's chest.

"An offer like this rarely comes up more than once in a lifetime," Scorpina said, her voice echoing through the cave. "He's being quite generous."

"Whose lives will you choose to save, Rangers?" Hayashi asked, still holding Colleen by the throat. The girl didn't move a muscle, but gazed at the heroes with wide, tear-brimmed eyes. Colleen's mother looked toward the Power Rangers, mouthing the words, "Shoot him." Darren and some other prisoners nodded in agreement when he saw this.

"As you've already seen, their toy guns aren't strong enough to fell me, let alone destroy my Sword of Darkness," Green Ranger reminded everyone. "And I wouldn't try to get those other weapons out if I were you."

The Rangers looked at each other for a moment, then Ash said, "We'll do it, but you have to let these people go."

"They will not die, Red Ranger," Hayashi promised, letting go of Colleen's neck and shoving her aside to her mother, who clutched her to her chest with an iron grip.

_Now YOU'RE talking? Shut up! They will all be sacrificed to Rita!_

_No, they won't._

Green Ranger groaned and held his head, shouting, "I've had enough of you! I will go through with my mission!"

Over in another dungeon, Eliza Peterson looked over at a nearby shackled man and his nephew, then to Terry, asking, "What is he talking about?"

"Beats me," Terry said, his chest searing from Goldar's attack.

The man opposite Eliza shrugged, trying to place his hand on his young relative's shoulder as Goldar came by and growled at all of them, peering at the prisoners with his crimson eyes.

As Hayashi shook off his now-external disagreement with himself, he pointed directly at the Pink Ranger just as Red Ranger stepped up to the sacrificial slab. "No. Like I told you, Red, the Pink Ranger will suffer the most for your collective crimes. So you have a choice: either you can experience your end first, or you can watch all of your friends die before you. Either way, I'll be sure to take _my_ time."

"Then I'm going first," Lia immediately said. The Blue and Yellow Rangers gripped her shoulders, trying to urge her back, but she moved their hands off of her, slowly nodding to each of them and squeezing their hands. She also nodded toward the Red and Black Rangers before stepping up to the altar. She eyed her brother behind his dark visor, right into his harsh, bloodshot, blue eyes. Pink Ranger stayed silent as she turned around and laid on the slab, not acknowledging the protests of some of the captives as they tried to pull away from their chains and help her.

"Stop!"

"You don't have to do this! Please!"

Lia kept taking in deep breaths, closing her eyes and putting her hands at her sides. Her teammates didn't say a word, standing in place and breathing just as deeply, doing their best to quell their fears of what was to come.

Green Ranger began to laugh, slowly lifting the Sword of Darkness above his head, his eyes locked on everything below him—the bloodstained stone, the dangling tassel on his blade, and his helpless little lying thief of a sister. Mistress Rita would have everything she wanted, no matter what his captives or his own inner voice said. He would block everything except the kill out, even the memories that now bombarded his mind—summer days with his sister, practicing karate alongside her, her smile and laugh.

"You have been through so much these past few days, haven't you?" he questioned, pressing on and moving the point of the blade away from Lia's chest cavity and toward her Power Morpher and Pterodactyl Coin. "You're powers must be barely propping you all up. But don't worry, I will take away all of the strain. I'll destroy your Power Coin first, freeing you of the burden and Rita of you!"

At that moment, Hayashi drove the Sword of Darkness straight toward the Morpher and Power Coin, his shining sword sure to shatter the little trinket from the Morphing Grid, but as the blade touched the surface of the golden coin, a sheen of pink light surrounded Lia—initially emitting from her Power Coin and her hand, which now held her Dino Crystal—buffeting the Sword of Darkness with crackling static. The Evil Green Ranger struggled to plunge the sword into its target, but as he fought, Lia swiftly threw her arm up, more pink light producing the Ptera Bow in her hand, and with one snap she ripped the Sword of Darkness out of her brother's grip and to the ground.

"No!" Hayashi bellowed, leaping over Lia and gunning for his sword, but when he grabbed hold of it, Misty dove her newly summoned Tiger Daggers down—one into one of the Sword of Darkness' decorative holes and another into Hayashi's gloved hand. The Evil Green Ranger howled in pain and reared back with all his might, but he was met with a rising blow from the pommel of Yellow Ranger's weapon and was then caught in a grappling hold by the Pink Ranger.

"Get the people!" Ash shouted, raising his Tyranno Sword in the air. While the Evil Green Ranger tangled with the females, Brock and Tracey drew their Power Weapons and started breaking bonds and chains with their Mammoth Axe and Tricera Lance.

"Come on, move this way!" Blue Ranger shouted, helping the older man to his feet and to a few younger captives that would help him. "The exit is that way!"

"Transmitting coordinates now, Zordon," Black Ranger said into his Communicator as he freed some more hostages. He then bolted out of the chamber and moved into the next one, barreling into a startled Goldar. Before Goldar could swing his sword, Brock swung his axe right into Goldar's brawny chest, gouging open his armor and sending him crashing into some Putties.

"You're gonna be teleported to safety soon! Hurry!" the Ranger shouted as he cleaved more irons open. He pulled a smiling Eliza up and moved her along with Terry and the others.

"Kill them all!" Goldar snarled as all of his prisoners made their escape. He and his Putties advanced on Brock, but he began spinning like a top, knocking down foes with his Hurricane Tackle until Scorpina came on the scene.

"Those people can wait. I want his blood!" she rasped as she kicked Brock to the ground. She shoved the middle point of her sword to Brock's throat, but something heavy caught her from behind and pulled her to the wall. Scorpina screamed, looking over at the chamber's entryway and seeing Misty with her sparkling Dino Crystal raised in one hand and a mass of vines flying from the other. The demoness glowed dark red and screamed some more while the Jungle Barrier drained her energy.

A rabble of Putty Patrollers hurriedly left their posts to attack the Power Rangers, but they hadn't planned to run directly into the prongs of Tracey's trident. With a war cry, the Blue Ranger pushed off of the ground, breaking apart the Putties as he drilled his lance through their clay bodies.

"We've got the last couple of rooms. You can begin transport now!" he announced over his Communicator. And with that, he went with the Pink Ranger—who was bringing up the rear—to liberate everyone else.

_Cling! Cling! Cling!_

Meanwhile, the Red and Green Rangers were locked in a heated swordfight, and Green Ranger was at an advantage with his experience and weaponry. Ash had been able to parry some of Hayashi's slashes, but every time he'd deflect the Dragon Dagger or Sword of Darkness, he'd be struck by the other blade. He had tried evening the odds with his Blade Blaster, but the Evil Green Ranger locked the sidearm in a pincer and flicked it away from the arena.

Hayashi towered over a buckling Ash, holding him against the stony wall of Life's End. He steadily pressed sword and dagger against the Tyranno Sword, causing the weapon to throw off sparks.

"You are no match for me, Ketchum," Green Ranger taunted, smiling behind his glinting green helmet. "Then again, you're used to that."

Red Ranger grunted, baring his teeth much like his helmet's Tyrannosaurus motif. As he kept buckling, he caught his breath and said, "Yeah, but I'm also used to my opponents giving me time to think!"

With those words, Ash dropped his sword and rolled past Hayashi, ensnaring him by his shoulders in the same hold he had been put in himself during his last martial arts trial. His opponent instantly wheeled around and broke the hold, but was struck by a spinning heel kick to the head before he could slice away. As the Evil Green Ranger flew headfirst into the rocky surface, Ash reassumed his Tyranno Sword and pried the Sword of Darkness away from its holder with the silver blade, making it plummet onto the altar.

Green Ranger did his best to shake off the throbbing pain in his cranium, but by the time he got up, Ash had drawn his palms out and formed his Dino Crystal, letting his body absorb its power. Roaring, and with his Power Weapon glowing bright red, he shoved the point of the sword into the ground, causing a massive tremor as the possessed Power Ranger started toward his prized weapon. Misty, Brock, Tracey, and Lia joined their friend and saw Hayashi thrown back into the wall after a wall of red lightning rose from the ground and buffeted into him.

"Alpha and Zordon are teleporting everyone away," Misty said. "And your Quake Defender should shake the clod squad up."

"Good work, guys," Red Ranger replied, raising his illuminated Tyranno Sword in the air. "Let's finish this!"

"Right!" the other Rangers yelled, drawing their Dino Crystals and combining their energy with their arsenal. "Jurassic Cannon!"

"I must be victorious for my queen!" Green Ranger snarled, hoisting himself up and lifting his Dragon Dagger. But it was too late.

"Dino Power! FIRE!"

With all five Rangers at its helm, the superweapon released a dazzling explosion of light from the ends of the combined Power Weapons, swallowing up the Sword of Darkness. A few passing seconds and an expulsion of green fire, and the weapon of evil's bondage was gone for good.

"We did it!" Tracey shouted.

"All right!" Brock added gleefully.

"Wait!" Lia interrupted, pointing at her kneeling brother. "Remember, Hayashi has to break the spell on his own. The Sword of Darkness was just a lock; he has to open the door." She stepped closer to Hayashi and offered her hand. "Come on, bro. Come back to us…"

The Green Ranger took a good look at the Pink Ranger, then he quickly jabbed at her stomach with his Dragon Dagger. "Get away!" he cried. "You're done for!"

The others came to Lia's aid as she stumbled and held her stinging stomach; the pink-and-white diamond design on her suit was charred from the blow.

"Don't touch him!" Red Ranger warned. "He needs space."

"We're your friends. You remember that," Yellow Ranger said softly. "You've helped us fight Rita before."

"Fight Rita? That's a lie!" Hayashi roared, going to brandish his weapon, but his arm didn't move one inch.

"Huh? Let's go!" he shouted, trying to raise his arm, but again, he couldn't budge.

"It's working," Blue Ranger stated. "He can't fight us!"

"Come on, man," Black Ranger encouraged.

Nothing. No movement, no slashes, just thoughts. Thoughts of Rita telling him how the Power Rangers stood against her, which meant they stood against Hayashi. Thoughts of how she told him they stole her planet from her and her court, and all filthy human and animal thieves deserved no mercy. Thoughts of flaming cities, fallen Rangers, and a damaged Command Center.

Then…the other images came. The good images. Helping Ash improve his defensive techniques, going to help his friends save children from Rita's Putty Patrollers, cheering the Rangers on in victory. He saw past the helmets into the eyes of his so-called friends, and in his mind, he could see into the eyes of his victims. Humans…ones that stood with him, believed in something greater, believed that he could stand for something greater.

A few silent moments passed, and then Hayashi dropped the Dragon Dagger to the earth. Suddenly, a fiery cloud surrounded his being, eventually dissipating in the air and leaving him in his regular clothes. His eyes were closed, but then they opened and it felt like air hit his lungs for the first time. Sweat cascaded off his dangling blonde hair, his face, his fists, and soon he fell to the ground much like the droplets.

"Hayashi!" Lia yelled, running over to her sibling, sliding and scooping him up in her arms. Again, he opened his eyes—now free of malice—and even exhausted he could see through the Power Rangers' visors and notice their relieved expressions.

"Lia…Misty…Ash…Brock…Tracey…you guys…" he breathed, struggling to reach upward.

"Yes," Lia choked out, repressing a sob. "It's us. You're back…"

"Finally…" Misty said, unable to stop grinning. She and Brock gripped Hayashi by the arm and pulled him up. "It's over."

"What?" Hayashi asked, nearly collapsing again. "My head…"

"Just relax, buddy," Ash said. "You'll be okay. You did it!"

Hayashi looked around the room, gasping at the sight of the chains and the flaming torches. "I knew it…" he said. "Rita must have chained me up."

"What are you talking about?" Tracey asked. "You weren't chained up here."

"He must not remember right now," Brock quietly surmised, trying not to startle their friend.

"Huh? Last thing I remember is being warped away to some green dungeon or something," the elder Feran said, propping himself up on the stone altar. "That witch Rita told me you were the Power Rangers and that I was gonna help her destroy you. She must have left me here when I refused and tried to fight her."

"That's not exactly what happened."

Hayashi grunted and held his side, turning to face his sister, who was looking downward.

"What?"

"She may have captured you, but you weren't just held here."

He stared as the Pink Ranger opened her hand, revealing the sixth Power Morpher. Hayashi slowly reached out and took the mystical device in his own hands, looking at the Dragon Power Coin inside. Within seconds, the mental fog cleared, and it came back to hit him like an oncoming train.

"No…" he quietly said, his hands trembling. "I couldn't have…"


	14. Megazord vs Dragonzord

Sights and sounds mingled together for Hayashi while he stood in the middle of one of Life's End's sacrificial chambers, shuddering and looking at his Power Morpher with dread. As the rain and thunder pounded and boomed outside, memories of exploding fireballs, horrified screams, demolished buildings, and broken beings hit the former evil Power Ranger one by one. His sister and his friends stood away from him, straining not to break down as well.

"I knew you couldn't handle it, boy," a growly voice cut in.

All six Rangers turned to see Goldar and Scorpina standing in the entryway with their blades drawn and teeth bared. Goldar chortled as he took a couple of steps forward.

"I have to admit, you produced a fair amount of destruction these past few days, Hayashi," Goldar said. "You even managed to catch me off guard, but I knew you wouldn't be up to the task of finishing what you started!"

"No… How could I do that?!" the older Feran sibling cried, sinking to the earth again and striking the ground. "All those people…"

"But take heart, human," Scorpina said in a mockingly sweet voice. "There's a good chance all those people you hurt won't be suffering much longer."

"That's enough!" Blue Ranger shouted.

"Your days of controlling the Power Rangers are over!" Black Ranger added, charging his Mammoth Axe as he prepared its cannon mode.

"An interesting challenge, Brock!" Scorpina snarled, fighting the urge to step forward, but as she did, a huge rumble shook the cave and a high-pitched roar cut through the air. Scorpina's ruby red lips curled into a smile. "But this will end like it started—with one of your own being your end!"

The heroes had had enough, and they pushed forward to engage the villains, but both of them instantly vanished in a fiery glow.

"That roar…" Pink Ranger realized as she and her team went to tend to Hayashi. "It's the Dragon Dinozord again."

"But the spell is broken, Lia," Yellow Ranger interrupted, wrapping her arms around Hayashi's shoulders and helping him up. "It can only be controlled with the Dragon Dagger, right?"

At that moment, Red Ranger's Communicator beeped, and he turned on the communication frequency before the six-tone warning could finish.

"This is Ash," he said. "We read you,"

"Power Rangers, congratulations on breaking Rita's spell. Hayashi is now in complete control of his powers, and all of Rita's captives are being teleported to safety and medical attention for those who need it," Zordon announced.

"Something's wrong, though, Zordon," Red Ranger replied. The roar of the Dragonzord burst through the walls of the cave yet again as he spoke. "We hear the Dragonzord, but Hayashi didn't call it."

"Indeed, Red Ranger," Zordon continued as the rumbling did also. "Alpha and I have detected a poisonous mixture in the rain similar to the Ghera Serum, but its descent is focused on one fixed point: the Dragonzord. Rita is remotely controlling the Zord and is bringing it to destroy you."

"I can't believe this…" Hayashi whispered. "This is all my fault. Zordon, what can I do to help?"

"Alpha has been working on calibrating the final sequence to bring the Dinozords back from their seclusion. You must attempt to regain control with the Dragon Dagger's music until Megazord can arrive to help," Zordon explained.

"There it is!" Alpha squeaked over the transmission. "By combining your Power Coins, you can give your Zords the final push they need to free themselves. But you must hurry, Rangers! Dragonzord is seconds away from reaching shore!"

"You got it! Rangers out!" Ash shouted. "Let's get outta here!"

All five suited Power Rangers turned to Hayashi, who was looking down and fumbling with his Power Morpher.

"I…I…" he mumbled, still trying to regain steady breaths.

"Come on, man, we need you!" Ash urged, pumping his fist in front of him.

"They won't…"

Before he could say another word, Lia stepped to face her brother and gripped him by the shoulders, shaking him to attention. "Stop mumbling!" she yelled. "You can't stand around feeling sorry for yourself! You can't back out! Everybody needs you. They need us!"

"Of course I want to help," Hayashi muttered, trying to make eye contact with his sister. "But those people won' trust me to save them after what I did."

"But you're not under Rita's power anymore," Lia said, and the others nodded and pumped their fists in agreement. "Power Rangers always fight for good and find a way to win in the end, no matter what. Hey, where do you think I get that from?"

Hayashi looked at his sister and each one of his friends, blinking his eyes and taking in a deep breath. There was only choice now.

In downtown Feron Grove, the heavy rain and lightning still plummeted and crackled, casting light over an otherwise pitch-black cityscape. As another thunderclap rang out followed by more bolts, a huge, menacing shape could be seen towering over some of the tallest buildings.

Police and rescue officials had been erecting barriers and checkpoints all day, but there were still some adventurous citizens creeping around the sides of businesses and trying to push past the officers.

"I told you to get back!" an officer shouted, helping a paramedic try to usher some folks back behind the structures. "That dragon robot is coming back!"

Indeed, Dragon Dinozord was marching to the shore, planting its huge metal feet in the sand and letting out another piercing scream. The rescue officials on the scene held their ground at the barriers as the behemoth approached, but had to retreat when it whipped its drill-like tail around, slicing through several light poles and sending them crashing on the police cars and ambulances below.

"What are we gonna do?" one of the ambulance workers asked a nearby policewoman, brushing glass off of his clothes. "There's no stopping that thing!"

The officer said nothing, turning her head around to see some spectators—including some of the rescued captives that were too curious for their own good.

"Move back inside the truck!" she screamed, but they didn't comply. Before the officer could go toward the people, Dragonzord screeched once more, the red lights on its body blinking furiously and its purple eyes shining bright. The Dinozord waved its arms and locked its humanlike hands in place, producing a round of missiles in its fingertips. Everyone in the vicinity of the beachhead stood frozen, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

Dragonzord roared again, turning its huge body around and looking into the sky. The citizens of Feron Grove did the same, seeing a column of rainbow light rocketing through the late-night sky that descended into the ocean, illuminating the beach like the sun had just risen. Dragon Dinozord swiveled around to face the water and was greeted with the sight of a rising pool of magma and rainbow-colored flames, animalistic bellows issuing from it. The molten liquid and fire quickly shrank away, however, revealing the towering and gleaming Dinozords as they took to the surface. Dragonzord—and its intended victims—backed up in surprise. The Dinozords continued to glow with a brilliant colored sheen, and in a few seconds they were overtaken by a flash of light that, when dissipated, revealed the Megazord.

"Look over there!" someone shouted.

Everyone had to pry themselves from gazing at their robotic salvation to the top of a nearby building in the west. Six points of light touched down on the roof, revealing all six Power Rangers.

"The Power Rangers are back!" a paramedic yelled, pointing in the air.

"Wait…that's that evil Green Ranger! What's he doing with them?" an older woman—one of Hayashi's former prisoners who now wore a swath of medical tape around her shoulder—said.

"Yeah, just whose side is he on?" another captive—a young man with a blonde goatee asked, crossing his arms.

"Alright guys," Green Ranger called out, stepping forward with his Dragon Dagger raised high. "Everyone's all here. Now let's bring the home team together!"

"Prehistoric power lights the darkest hour!" the group screamed, assuming battle poses. "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!"

The people on the battle scene, as well as anyone within earshot, cheered and hollered as they saw the heroes united as one. As they did, the Red, Blue, Pink, Black, and Yellow Rangers leapt off of the building and shot toward the Megazord, jumping in the cockpit right inside the three-horned head.

"Okay Rangers," Red Ranger said, beginning to move the super-robot forward. "Let's get a hold of Dragonzord so Hayashi can lock it down!"

The Megazord squared off with Dragonzord on the high part of the sand dunes. Both mechs stepped forward and locked arms, Megazord wheeling its opponent around as it tried to hold it in place. Meanwhile, Hayashi brought the flute end of the Dragon Dagger to his silver mouthpiece, closing his eyes and tapping the six-tone melody that brought his Zord to the sea earlier. The Dragonzord's fierce purple eyes began to flicker for a moment—and the Dinozord did go slack for a moment—but the dark color clouded its optic sensors again. Releasing a low growl, Dragon Dinozord flicked its silver arms and butted itself into Megazord with its brawny, gold-colored shoulders. Stunned, Megazord reared its left Triceratops leg back and pushed off the ground, but Dragon Dinozord took the Megazord by the shoulder and, using the momentum, flung it to the nearby street.

"Look out! It's readying the rockets!" Yellow Ranger cried, trying to give the Megazord an extra boost to get out of the way.

"Fire back with the rear cannons!" Blue Ranger suggested, shifting his controls forward.

Megazord did roll out of the way of the incoming missiles, and it fired back with volleys of cannon fire from the guns mounted on its back—the Mastodon's legs. But while Dragonzord stuttered back from the blast, it regained its footing and came forward to stomp the Megazord.

While the fight was going on, Green Ranger kept playing note after note on the Dragon Dagger. Dragonzord's eyes would flicker for a moment, but it would still keep going on its rampage.

"There has to be another way!" he said as his Zord toppled the Megazord with the brute force of its tail whip. By now, nearby spectators had fled on-foot to a safer distance since the ensuing battle was annihilating nearby vehicles, posts, and pavement, and some of them were all looking up at him.

"Hold on…" Hayashi uttered, leaping and flipping off of his perch and hitting the ground running. "Ash, I have an idea. Maybe if I get inside the Dragonzord I can manually override the virus!"

"Wait, man!" Ash called out in Hayashi's headset. "You can't right now…"

Hayashi paid no attention to the Red Ranger's words, instead dashing over the demolished blacktop street and approaching his Dinozord. Instinctively, Dragonzord pushed Megazord away and launched a blast of acidic breath at its partner, forcing him to roll into a crushed-in crevice in the street. Bits of the attack did reach his shoulders, bouncing off his gold shield but stinging him everywhere else it hit.

Dragon Dinozord stood primed to stomp the Green Ranger into the center of the Earth only to be interrupted with a swipe from behind. The possessed vehicle screeched and staggered to the side, ducking its shoulder away. Sparks flew from its shoulder after the Power Sword hit it, and now was the Megazord's time to strike. The fighting machine dodged a few blows from Dragonzord, countering with slashes from its silver blade. Overwhelmed by the sword, Hayashi's robotic partner fell to the surface, giving the Ranger a second to emerge from his safeguard. But he still couldn't reach the cockpit as the Zord snarled and rolled over, sending its spinning drill-tail right at him. Hayashi barely jumped out of the way, one of the serrated edges of the tail cutting across the lower part of his back and forcing him to the ground.

"Hayashi!" Black Ranger shouted. "Dragonzord's got him pinned down now!"

"No, Brock," Pink Ranger, who sat beside him in the cockpit, cut in. "He can make it. Look." She pointed to Dragonzord, who still had its dark eyes focused on the Megazord and its tail whirring. "There's the opening."

"Right. Time to play offense and defense together," Ash said, steadying the controls. "You know what to do!"

At that moment, Megazord raised the Power Sword high in the air, charging at its foe with full force. Dragon Dinozord snarled yet again and lifted off the ground, moving in and thrusting its tail straight for Megazord's Pterodactyl-shielded chest. At the last moment, the mass of combined Dinozords, raised its left hand, which glowed with purple light, and stretched out. The head of the Mastodon appeared in the Megazord's hand, now acting as a shield. With a torque of the wrist, the Mastodon Shield's tusks hooked the spinning tail, and the Megazord lurched back with all its might, lifting Dragonzord overhead and slamming it into the sand of the beach.

"Now's my chance!" Hayashi said to himself, gritting his teeth and taking to the street again. In a few seconds, he forced his pained body onto the sand dunes and onto the shoulders of the prone Dragonzord. Playing a tune on his flute, a side door opened, and he jumped into the cockpit.

"Let's see," Green Ranger said, the howl of cold air blowing inside nearly overtaking his auditory senses. He examined the computer, which flashed solid purple. As soon as Hayashi got in the cockpit, something overtook his mind, and his fingers were now flying over the controls as if he had seen them all his life.

"Hang on, buddy," he said. "Almost got it…"

As its pilot worked, Dragon Dinozord roared in pain and tried to claw its way upward. The bestial mech rolled over a few times, trying to shake Green Ranger off, but he still kept going. Finally, the Dragonzord was able to get to its feet, its teeth bared and a bluish-white beam forming in its mouth. This time, the acid breath would totally vaporize Megazord when it was through.

"Got it!" Green Ranger cried excitedly, bringing his hands together after pressing one final button. "And here's the finishing touch!"

He drew his palms out, forming his gleaming green Dino Crystal, and jammed it into the control deck; the lights, screens, and image of the Green Ranger's Power Coin that stood in the back of the cockpit shined with green light. Dragonzord roared a final time, the huge atomic blast suddenly shrinking down to nothing. The Zord then closed its mouth and placed its hands at its sides. Slowly, the Dragonzord lumbered toward the Megazord, its eyes changing from fierce purple to bright red.

"Scanning for virus serum," Tracey said in the Megazord, analyzing the Dragonzord's makeup to see if Rita's potion was still working its magic. "There's no trace of it left!"

"Check it out," Lia said, pointing outside. The Dragonzord now stood facing the Megazord. The Green Ranger's personal vehicle let out another high screech, but instead of attacking, extended its right hand to the Megazord. Megazord obliged and shook hands. When they did, the gold symbol in the Megazord's cockpit—which featured all five dinosaur spirits that comprised it—glowed with their respective colors. Both robots turned toward the city side of Feron Grove, showing the people that enemies had now become friends.

The Power Rangers leapt out of their Zords and to the streets, where a small crowd of people awaited them, all applauding and shouting happily. Green Ranger, who was coming up from behind the rest of the group, finally made it in line. That's when the celebration stopped and some of the people's wide eyes turned to glares. Hayashi stepped forward, causing some of the citizens to either step back in shock or turn and walk away.

"I know there's nothing I can say that will make anything I did right," he began, standing at attention. "I was under Rita's spell when I did those things, but with my friends' help, I broke through and got rid of her influence. I'm here to fight the good fight. For good."

The people stayed silent, and more cast wary looks and stepped away toward home. Green Ranger took a deep breath and looked to his friends, who were also silent. Apologies wouldn't help a bit right now. He turned his head again, then stutter-stepped back a little when something wrapped around his midsection. It was little Colleen, who had Hayashi wrapped up in a big hug. Surprised, the new Ranger looked up and still saw a few people standing there—hostages including Colleen's mom, Mike, Wendy, Darren, and more—and they were all smiling back at him.


	15. Together at Last

Out of their uniforms, in pain, and nearly out of energy, the Power Rangers still felt on top of the world when they returned to the Command Center.

"This is a monumental occasion, Power Rangers," Zordon began, smiling at his team from inside his interdimensional column. "We have established a firm foothold in the battle against evil, all thanks to you."

"We couldn't have done it without you, Zordon," Ash said, arching his back and stretching his arms.

"Yeah," Tracey added. "There were points where we just seemed lost, even if we had an idea on what to do."

"But we couldn't give up," Misty cut in, breaking in between her two friends. "We knew we would save you."

"And that is the point," the good wizard continued. "You have taken what you've learned and kept pressing on in the face of insurmountable odds and uncertainty." He then closed his eyes for a moment and spoke to each Ranger individually.

"Ash, you showed true courage and fighting spirit when you were in Rita's Dark Dimension. You not only believed that good would prevail, you fought smartly until the point of exhaustion and pushed onward."

"Misty, you never abandoned your determination, even when all you cared for and knew seemed to be destroyed. You truly connected with your dinosaur spirit and channeled your fierceness and compassion well."

"Tracey, without your dedication and brilliance, our Command Center would still be in ruin. You educated yourself and your fellow Rangers in technology far surpassing modern science, and you will one day master it."

"Brock, you stayed cool in the midst of dire circumstances, reassured your friends that all was not lost, and you never leave a warrior behind. As the eldest, you are a mature cornerstone of the team."

"Lia, your thirst for knowledge and uncovering the unknown lead you and your friends to discovering the powers of the sixth Ranger. Even when a family member was forced to be your enemy, you never relented in your quest for justice and answers, and you displayed exemplary leadership and willingness to sacrifice on and off of the battlefield."

Zordon then turned his attention to Alpha. "And speaking of leadership, I owe much to you, Alpha 5. Not only were you instrumental in bridging our lost connection, you directed the Power Team in my stead and gave and reminded them of prudence and clarity to their situation when they wanted to keep on fighting. I am in your debt, old friend."

"Well, it was nothing…" Alpha stammered. "I…Well…I just…ay-yi-yi…"

"And now to our newest Ranger," Zordon announced as the group laughed and congratulated Alpha, urging the new Green Ranger to step forward. "Hayashi, make no mistake that even though your friends encouraged you to fight, you ultimately broke Rita's spell on your own by remembering the good person you are. And though you were under Rita's influence, you display a true sense of empathy and maturity in taking responsibility for your actions and understanding that not everyone will be accepting of you initially. But now that you are a true Power Ranger, you must follow three basic rules or lose the protection of the power. First, never use your power for personal gain. Second, never escalate a battle unless Rita forces you. And finally, keep your identity a secret. No one may know you are a Power Ranger."

Hayashi bowed in the style of his martial art and said, "Yes, sir. You can count on me all the way, Zordon."

Lia nudged her brother from behind and gave him a hug. "Welcome to the family," she said, giggling a little bit.

"Thanks," her brother replied, mussing his sister's hair and slapping hands with everyone else.

"Yeah," Brock cut in. "With six Power Rangers, we can finally solve the mysteries of the great power and stop Rita. Zordon, Lia showed us in that book of hers…"

"Yes, Brock," Zordon responded. "Like the power of the dinosaurs, there are still many things for you to discover about the struggle against Rita and her forces. All will be revealed in time, but you must never stop searching for the secrets yourselves." He then chuckled and said, "Not that you would."

Ash nodded and held his open hand out in the air. "And we never will."

"I am glad to hear that, my friends," Zordon boomed. "May the power protect you, always."

The other teens reached their hands out as well, joining them together and letting out the cry:

"POWER RANGERS!"

**NEXT TIME ON POWER RANGERS**

With Rita Repulsa still away seeking the wisdom of the High Counselor, Squatt and Baboo try their hand and sorcery and monster-making when they release the deadly Monarch upon Feron Grove. The devastating insect sends down an early and toxic snowfall intended to control everything much like Rita controlled Dragonzord. Can all six Power Rangers storm-proof their city and control this pest? Find out next time on the _Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!_

**AUTHOR NOTE**

Hi Ranger fans. Again, thanks so much for sticking with me. I know the story's been stretched out, but that's the convenience and the curse of a written story—not having to condense for a 20-minute TV show but apportioning just the right amount of action, showing and (not) telling, etc. As I said earlier, Episode 9 will start up this week, and Episodes 1-8 will be undergoing editing (Episode 1 will be undergoing a total revision.). But to get things going, here is the final cast list for the major players in the story!

Brennan Mejia as Ash Ketchum/Red Ranger

Rachel Lillis as Misty Williams/Yellow Ranger

Lucien Dodge as Tracey "Sketchit" Matthews/Blue Ranger

Erin Cahill as Lia Feran/Pink Ranger

Johnny Yong Bosch as Brock Harrison/Black Ranger

Josh Grelle as Hayashi Feran/Green Ranger

David Fielding as Zordon

Richard Horovitz as Alpha 5

Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa

Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar

Wendee Lee as Scorpina


End file.
